On a beautiful November afternoon in 2022, Margaret and David Townsend were attending the RSM Classic, a PGA TOUR event on Sea Island, Georgia, when they got a call from their alarm company. Heat sensors were going off at their home, and the company was sending the fire department.  

Moments later, a neighbor called to confirm—their house was truly ablaze. In a state of shock, Margaret told the neighbor their dog, Twiggy, was in the house. They raced for home, but the island is a narrow strip of land with one road in and out and emergency vehicles had the area in total gridlock.  

When Margaret and David finally got through, the blaze was out of control. But to their great relief, Twiggy had been rescued. A police officer had crawled into the burning house, searching through the smoke on hands and knees, and found the unconscious dog. A neighbor jumped into action and performed rescue breathing, bringing Twiggy back to consciousness.  

Watching now from across the street, the Townsends were caught between disbelief and an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Their house was on fire, but they were safe, and Twiggy was okay.  

The island is special to the Townsends. It’s where David’s family vacationed for years, and where the couple themselves began to build a life together. “We started dating in November, and a month later I was going to Sea Island with his family,” Margaret recalls. “We have a long, long history there.”  

Margaret grew up some 400 miles north in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She attended Randolph- Macon Woman’s College, majoring in French and Business. She started her career in banking and later began buying and merchandising for her family’s antique shop, La Cache.  

She and her parents combined their own love of beautiful china, silver, crystal and fine antiques with a desire to share these treasures with their community. For more than 30 years, Margaret took buying trips with her parents to bring beautiful things back to Winston-Salem.  

She continued these trips with her dad for several years following her mother’s death until “retiring” to focus on raising her and David’s three children. She continues to be involved in community volunteer positions, her church, her children’s schools and other causes close to the family’s hearts.  

David grew up working with his brother on the family tobacco and livestock farm in Lumberton, North Carolina. Summer meant long days driving tractors and sweating in warehouses. But David was destined for something other than the farming life. He recalls his father’s career advice: “Tobacco will only last as long as I do. So y’all find something else to do.”  

David took the words to heart and, after majoring in history at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, worked for a time in financial services, eventually going back to business school so he could pursue a career in investment banking.  

At about this time, David and Margaret met at a friend’s wedding. They both felt instant butterflies and soon realized they’d found their life partner. They were married nine months later and settled in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, while David finished business school.  

Their first child, Reilly, arrived two weeks after graduation. “It was the perfect time for me to be a more fulltime mom,” Margaret says. “Which I loved.”  

After eight years working for Ernst & Young and Stephens, Inc., David decided he was ready for a new challenge. The Townsends returned to Winston- Salem, where he founded Five Points Capital, a private equity firm, with two colleagues.  

Under his leadership, the company thrived, employing 25 people and managing more than $1.5 billion in assets. But for David, the real satisfaction came from the impact they had on their community and the businesses they supported.  

“Typically, we were the first institutional investor in these relatively small, family-owned businesses,” David says. “Growing my own business and helping others grow theirs—I found that very fulfilling.”  

Over the years, Sea Island remained the family’s anchor where they spent countless happy summers together. Eventually, Margaret and David purchased their own lot and decided to build a home.  

They took inspiration from the original Cloister Hotel on Sea Island, as well as some of the historic homes nearby. “We wanted a welcoming, comfortable new interpretation of the Spanish Revival style,” David says.  

And evidently, they did a good job. Their daughter Reilly—a Parsons-trained interior designer by profession—chose to be married there, descending the staircase in her wedding gown.  

“We loved the process of building a new home,” Margaret says. “Most people don’t. But even today, even after the fire, I can say we loved researching, building and designing the house.”  

The day of the fire started off normally enough. The Townsends left their home in the morning, headed for the golf course. Around 3 o’clock that afternoon, the alarm company called to say fire trucks had been dispatched.  

The blaze started in the attic, in an area housing mechanical and electrical equipment, and burned with unusual intensity. “The fireman said the wrought iron railing was glowing red,” David recalls. Miraculously, the staircase survived, but other treasures did not. “Oil paintings on walls that weren’t even near the fire, just blistered and melted.”  

“In those early moments, I didn’t think about stuff,” Margaret says. “Stuff is not important.” 

“We recognized how lucky we were that it hadn’t happened at night,” David continues. “And unlike so many people that go through this, we had another place to go to. So, we were just feeling really grateful.”  

PURE Executive General Adjuster, Julie Ivy, was assigned to the Townsends’ claim and orchestrated the recovery. “She said, ‘We’re going to manage this rebuild, but you have to get on with your life as you normally would,’” David recalls.  

PURE Art Services moved quickly to assess what could be salvaged from the Townsends’ collection and identify specialized fine art and furniture conservators to undertake the long and painstaking process of restoration.  

“Getting everything back and seeing it so beautifully restored, that’s been a joy the last few months,” Margaret says. “For some things, I thought, ‘Wow! That looks better than it did before the fire.’ These craftspeople, they’re just amazing.”  

After a two-year rebuild, the Townsends finally moved back to their home in November 2024. And just four months later, their daughter Mary Lyle’s wedding celebration once again filled its rooms—the staircase where Reilly once descended in white serving as the perfect backdrop for the new bride and another new beginning.  

And today, somewhere in the house, a lucky dog named Twiggy might just be taking a nap, dreaming about her second life in a twice-built home.