LaVonne 'Lolly' A. Torrence

LaVonne “Lolly” A. Torrence, 66, of St. Joseph, Minn., formerly of Superior, passed away peacefully at home on Friday, July 22, 2011, after a courageous four-year battle with cancer.

A memorial service will be held at 12 p.m. Wednesday, July 27 at Resurrection Lutheran Church in St. Joseph, Minn., celebrating her life. She will be dearly missed.

Friends and relatives may call after 11 a.m. Wednesday at the church in St. Joseph. Arrangements have been entrusted to Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Home in Sauk Rapids, Minn.

Lolly was born April 3, 1945, to Kenneth and Martha Parenteau in Hermantown, Minn. She graduated from Hermantown High School in 1963. During this time she worked at Woolworths and met the man who would become the love of her life. She later married that man, Richard Torrence on Sept. 11, 1965. In the early years of their marriage the couple lived in Augusta, Wis. before moving to Superior, where they lived for 33 years while raising their family. After retirement, they moved to St. Joseph in 1999 to be closer to their grandchildren. They were happily married for 46 years. In 2010 they took a second honeymoon to Hawaii, which was her dream vacation.

Lolly was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. While raising her family she was an active member in her community. She was the president of her children’s PTA, a Girl Scout leader, Sunday school teacher and hockey mom. In addition to raising her own children, she opened her house and heart to the neighborhood children making their home one where everyone was welcome. She cherished her time with her grandchildren and would spend time building memories with them. Once her children reached their teens, Lolly went back to school and completed her associate degree receiving straight A’s. She entered the work force and worked hard to supplement her children’s college tuition. She valued education and made sure that her children shared those same values.

Lolly enjoyed spending time with family and friends, golfing, gardening, playing games and traveling. She enjoyed cooking and baking for her family and hosting events and holidays. Her hobbies included knitting, crocheting and reading. Family game nights will not be the same without her. Lolly’s compassion, love and understanding were gifts she gave to all of us.

She is survived by her loving husband, Richard Torrence of St. Joseph; children, Tina (Dale) Piper of Sauk Rapids, Tammy (Chad) Crosby of Maple Grove, Minn. and Troy (Pam) Torrence of Fishers, Ind.; grandchildren, Trentin and Alayna Piper and Mikaela and Lily Crosby; mother, Martha Parenteau of Duluth; sisters, Janet McIntire of Peachtree, Ga., Susan Christenson of Virginia, Minn., Bev (Marvin) Rowland of Duluth; and brothers, Art (Carole) Parenteau of Sheridan, Ark., John (Dianne) Parenteau of Duluth and Thomas (Tracey) Garrick of Duluth.

She was preceded in death by her father, Kenneth Parenteau.

The family of Lolly would like to thank the staff of St. Cloud Home Health Care and St. Cloud Hospital Hospice for the kindness, care and compassion they demonstrated over the past few months. A special thank you goes out to Nurse Sara, who brought a ray of sunshine to Lolly on each visit.

Memorials are preferred to Coborn Cancer Center.

Obituary and guest book available online at www.williamsdingmann.com.

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