Francis "Frank" Torsak

Francis Torsak Obituary

IN MEMORY
FRANCIS (FRANK) TORSAK
August 6, 1911 ~ July 5, 1982

Francis Torsak, whose friends called him Frank, was born to immigrant parents in Ogden, Utah, the third of seven children: Fred, Stanley, Francis, Helen, Albert, Mary, and Norman, now all deceased. His father was Stanley Torsak, born in Xions, Posen, Germany, now Ksiaz, Poland. His mother was born Maria Karolina Plaschg in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. In America she was simply called Mary. Frank’s parents bravely settled themselves into a community whose language and beliefs were unfamiliar to them and there provided their children’s beginnings.
As a boy, Frank worked on the family’s Ogden, Utah farm and sold vegetables in the community. As a young man, he joined the U.S. Navy and traveled abroad. He became a Coxswain, stationed on the U.S.S. Maryland with home base in southern California. After marriage to a beautiful Ogden girl, Rhoda E., he began working at North American Aviation in the Los Angeles area. In time, he became a Shipping Foreman. He worked hard, studying to improve in his work. He welcomed the feeling of personal growth. He enjoyed writing as a hobby. He was a good uncle to nieces and nephews. Later in life, with a new wife, he became a businessman and motel owner in the North Lake Tahoe area. In retirement, he wrestled with the cares of land ownership in Placer County, California. Sadly, he died alone in Applegate estranged from family, not even knowing what his absence meant to them.
While each endeavor and association marked the passage of his years, his enduring legacy lies in his four children, thirteen grandchildren, and twenty-nine-plus great grandchildren (to date). Among them have been and are, honor students, public school teachers, Sunday school teachers, a Ph.D. college teacher, youth leaders, a PTA president, a 4-H president, Scout leaders, a sheriff, military officers, an airline pilot, a building contractor, a senior care giver, a state highways worker, a photographer, trophy winning dog trainers, athletic team members, a cheerleader, poets, singers, band members, a community orchestra member, a utility plant worker, and several community volunteers. They have left their footsteps on North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. They have learned German, Spanish, Italian, (a little bit of French), Tagalog and Japanese. Many of them are carrying his name into new generations.
Father, Grandfather, Great Grandfather -- his name and legacy continue, and he has not been forgotten.

Published on behalf of the descendants of Francis Torsak, who didn’t have the chance to say a proper goodbye. Mr. Torsak died in Applegate, California, in July of 1982. His wife, at that time, died in Auburn in 2001. Rhoda, his first wife and mother of his children, died in Salt Lake City in 2002.

Published by Auburn Journal from Jul. 11 to Jul. 13, 2006.

Memories and Condolences
for Francis Torsak

Sponsored by Descendants of Francis Torsak.

6 Entries

Bonnie Williamson

July 26, 2006

From reading mothers journal I learned: The depression was near the end but money was still tight and things had to last. Frank wore holes into his work clothes and mother kept patching them up for him. His friends at work jokeingly called him "HONERABLE PATCHES", the name of a book at that time. Frank joked around with them but it must have felt good to "finally graduate from patches" (as mother put it) He eventually bought a car and didn't have to walk all the miles to and from work every day. Maybe in this memory, we can see a mixture of endurance, good humor, and a reward, all elements for making a good story.

Mary J. Dilley

July 24, 2006

I am the neice of Frank (Francis) Torsak. I would like to pay tribute to my uncle by sharing somethings about him. Uncle Frank was a quiet, kind and soft spoken man. I was fortunate to know him throughout my early childhood and teen years. I lost contact with him when he moved to Lake Tahoe, CA

with his last wife. He never complained, gossiped, critized nor had any negative words about anyone. He kept his life and its ups and downs to himself. He worked hard and long hours at North American. He always wore slacks, never blue jeans. He always wore a nice sports shirt, never a polo or tee shirt. He always seemed special to me. He made me feel that he was glad to see me and my mom and was always seemed interested in what and how we were doing. He always gave me a big hug and smile upon arriving and leaving his visit with us. When he smiled, it was a heart warming kind of a smile. His eyes were soft but never missed anything. He never had a scowl on his face, nor did I ever see angry or disapproving expressions on his face. I am thankful that my cousin, Carol Ann, took the initative and spent the time to remember her father and my uncle in this memorial and not let the memory of his life fall into an abyss. This memorial is a wonderful undertaking and leaves ssomething about him and his life for all generations to come.

Carol Lenhart

July 18, 2006

Our father, Frank, had a tenacious nature. If there was something he needed to do, he stuck to it, as we can see from this little story. In his early days working at North American Aviation he set about finding a house for himself, his wife and first son. After work each day, he looked for a rental near his employment, as he had no car. In our mother Rhoda’s memoirs we read: “Always the same old story. A month’s rent in advance and ‘no children allowed.’ Many people would say ‘A dog, yes. A child, no.’ One rainy, cold day he was looking for houses. He saw a rent sign and stopped. He got the house, and we moved in. The landlady later told me – and she liked to laugh about it – ‘I never would have rented to him with a child if he hadn’t looked so pitiful. I still remember him standing there at my door in that pouring rain, soaked to the skin and dripping, asking to rent a house to get his family into. I felt so sorry for him, I did what I never would have done under normal conditions. I rented him the house.’”

Carol Lenhart

July 16, 2006

I’d like to share one of our mother’s memories of a quality our father had. Telling about some of their early days, she wrote: “This was the time of the great depression. Every day, long lines of people stood at the employment office of every business looking for work. Many days Frank stood in those lines from early morning until closing time at night. One night at closing time, he lay down on a bench in the outer waiting room. They told him he would have to go, they were closing. He said he was not leaving. He would sleep there and be first man at the window tomorrow. They couldn’t budge him. Everybody else had gone. Then they asked him if he could operate a jackhammer. He said yes. So they signed him up for a job starting the next morning operating a jack hammer. He had never used one. He walked slowly home.” That night, he found someone to show him how to operate a jackhammer and the next day he started work. Our mother concluded this memory with, “Frank was a good worker. He could hold a job when others couldn’t.”

Bonnie Williamson

July 14, 2006

I too am glad that Carol has had a chance to express her thoughts and feelings about the father that no one knew. This will also give the decendants some insight into his life. Thanks for providing this outlet.

Ron Lenhart

July 13, 2006

I am happy that my Wife Carol Ann has had this opportunity to find closure with her father.

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