Mystic - Arthur John Townsend, 77, died Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016, in New London, at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, where he spent the last days of his life in hospice due to various infections.He was a resident of Mystic. Arthur, known to his family and friends as "AJ" and "Art", was born on June 19, 1939 in Gowanda, N.Y. He was the only child of Holland Allen Townsend and Pearl (Tarbox) Townsend.After two and a half years in the U.S. Navy, he studied horticulture at State University Agricultural and Technical Institute at Farmingdale in New York, where he met his former wife, Lucille Baron, with whom he remained close friends until his death.He was a beloved special education teacher for 27 years on Long Island, after which he retired to a country home that he loved in Roxbury, N.Y.He is survived by his daughter, Lauren Virginia Townsend, 53, of Bradley Beach, N.J.; son, Thomas Allen Townsend, 49, of Mystic; and grandson, Alexander Townsend Baumann, 23, of Philadelphia, Pa.Arthur was a lover of nature and the outdoors. A contribution to an animal shelter or wildlife refuge would honor his spirit.There are no services scheduled.