Richard Shay Towns was born to John & Claudia Towns on June 13, 1952. He was second of eight children in the Towns clan. Richard was very bright and talented and seemed to always gravitate to something music related. He would later go on to graduate from Vashon High School, obtain his Bachelors degree and later his Masters degree in Music & Theatre Education. He spent over 25 years teaching music
and theatre arts in the St. Louis Public school system where he enriched and impacted the lives of so many young students. He also spent many years with the St. under Dr. Ron Himes, with leading roles in plays like Bubbling Brown Sugar and Ain't Mis Behavin', to name a few. Church consumed a large portion of his life. Either as a musician or Minister of Music at the Liberty Baptist Church, Temple Church of Christ or Wayman AME, Richard futher developed his craft and went on to pen compositions, plays and short skits that have been used by many across the city, region and country. Richard was known as "the gentle giant." He was a staple at the Gospel Music Workshop of America, Inc. (one of the largest gospel music organizations in the world) in the Children's Music Division. Richard spent his life dedicated to educating and enriching the lives of others through music and the arts until he passed away. The Richard "Ricky" Towns Scholarship was established in 2004 in the memory of the late Richard Towns. Family and friends that gathered to celebrate his life as a son, brother, uncle, God Father, friend, singer, musician and educator, wanted a way to keep his memory alive and acknowledge the many lives he touched and enriched. A memorial musical for Richard was put together as a part of the life celebration and the donations collected were used to establish the scholarship as suggested by longtime friend and educator, Dr. Doris Jones-Wilson. The Towns family, along with Dr. Wilson and Mary Kay Jones, Registrar at Harris-Stowe State College worked with the college to establish this scholarship in Richard's name, an alum of Harris Teachers College. Since that time, the Towns family has sourced the scholarship that has gone on to award 12 students at what is known today as Harris-Stowe State University. Presently, we have a desire to make larger awards and establish other enrichment programs that will further and cement the legacy of Richard Towns. Your contribution will not only help us further the cause and cement his legacy, but as the motto of the scholarship fund says..."Providing an opportunity to transform lives through education and the arts." All donations are tax deductible and go 100% to the fund mananged by Harris-Stowe State University. The Towns' thank you in advance for your consideration and support of this great mission.
