Franklin Arthur "Poco" Torch

1944 - 2025

Franklin Arthur "Paco" Torch
August 7, 1944 - May 10, 2025
Frank Torch, 80, of Alpharetta, GA, passed away quietly on May 10, 2025. He was born on August 7, 1944, in Zanesville, Ohio. During his 20's, he made his way to Southern California, where he subsequently became the Official Court Reporter (machine stenographer) of the Malibu Municipal District. He served in that position for ten years.
In 1979, he relocated to Frankfurt, Germany. He founded International Reporting Service and traveled to American embassies and consulates all over Western Europe and Scandinavia. As of that time, he was the only American stenographer to have ever worked as a non-military free- lancer in a Swiss Court or a German Court. He took the depositions of military and non-military citizens and additionally transcribed the testimony of dignitaries, such as Ahmed Zaki Yamani, the Oil Minister of Saudi Arabia, and the former Chancellor of Germany, Helmut Schmidt.
Returning in 1991 to the United States, he landed in Forsyth County, Georgia. Unable physically to sit for many hours at a time at a stenograph machine, he forged ahead by changing careers. After formal study, he became a mortgage broker. His entrepreneurial spirit intact, he founded Torch Mortgage and served the Atlanta community for 17 years. During the mid-1990's, his love of animals placed him in a two-year stint
as President of the Forsyth County Humane Society (now the Humane Society of Forsyth County).
Carrying the painful burden of cerebral palsy since babyhood, Frank was known as a valiant fighter and led a productive and very successful life. He is truly a model for any disabled person to strive to be the best he or she can be; never give up.
Frank leaves behind his wife of 49 years, Laura Schaffer, a brother and sister-in-law, Richard and Sheri Torch, a son, Howard Torch, a step-son, Bennett Jacoby, a grandson, Sonny Torch, and many friends and acquaintances who loved and truly admired "Paco" Torch.