Frederick Joseph Torres

Frederick Joseph Torres, born June 11, 1947, to Marion Killin Torres and Anthony Henry Torres in Brooklyn NY, died January 15, 2015 in Whittier, CA.



He is survived by his wife Laura, daughter Emlyn and son Owen, as well as his stepmother Catherine Torres; sister Laurette Stiles, her husband Chris and their children, Kelsey, Steven and David; sister Denise, her husband, Gregory, and their children Gregory, Zachary and Catherine; sister Theresa, her husband, David, and their children Charlotte and Sabrina.



As a boy, Fred sang soprano in the Cathedral Choir of the Los Angeles Episcopal Diocese. It was the start of his love of choral music.



Fred graduated from California State University Fullerton with a B.A. in drama and a teaching credential. He also attended the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, on a Fulbright scholarship. He renewed his teaching credential at National University.



As submariner in the U.S. Navy, he circumnavigated the world twice. He also was a school bus driver and a Gray Line tour-bus driver, a Los Angeles County Probation Officer, a locomotive engineer with Southern Pacific Rail Way, and a teacher in the Montebello Unified School District, most recently at La Merced Intermediate School. Fred had such varied jobs in his life that he was asked back to speak for Career Day at Dexter Middle School long after his children had graduated.



He was a lifelong model train enthusiast. His interest started at the age of three, when he saw the first trains being delivered to Travel Town in Griffith Park. His parents were living at that time in Quonset huts in what is now the parking lot for the L.A. Zoo while they attended school on the G.I. Bill after World War II. He specialized in British model trains and started a model train club at St. Matthias Episcopal Church.



The two groups to which he devoted more than 15 years service each were the 42nd Black Watch Highland Society Color Guard and the Welsh Choir of Southern California. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to either of these groups in his memory. Gifts may be sent to 42nd Black Watch Highland Society, c/o Mike Benjamin, 306 Swanee Ave., Placentia, CA 92870 or Welsh Choir of Southern California, c/o Lynne La Fleur, 2500 Via Anacapa, Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274.



His last year was spent as a mentor at the Boys & Girls Club of Whittier and as a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.



A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28, at St. Matthias Episcopal Church, 7056 Washington Ave. in Whittier.