Friends and family mourned the passing of Lee Torr IV during a memorial mass and burial at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Monte Rio last week.
A familiar presence in the lower Russian River community where the Torr family has been established in Monte Rio for nearly 100 years, Lee Torr IV died last month after a long battle with declining health. He was 63.
He was born in Santa Rosa on Dec. 15, 1955, and passed on Dec. 10, 2019. The son of Lee O. Torr III and Regina E. (Cuneo) Torr, he was a life-long resident of Monte Rio, attending Monte Rio Elementary School and graduating from Santa Rosa’s Cardinal Newman High School (class of 1974) before graduating from Santa Clara University in 1978. In 1979 he joined his father in the real estate and insurance business, which was started by his grandfather in 1943. Lee was a third-generation real estate agent who enjoyed working with his clients, many of whom became friends. He retired in 2011 after 32 years.
Lee was a constant champion for his hometown and the lower Russian River area and over the years contributed a great deal of his time and expertise to many local organizations by serving on numerous boards and committees. A long-time member of the Monte Rio Chamber of Commerce, he served as its president and was on the chamber’s board of directors for several years. As a Realtor, he volunteered on numerous committees, both local and county wide, serving as chairman on many. A tireless member of the annual Monte Rio Variety Show Committee and a co-founder of the annual Big Rocky Games held on the Fourth of July weekend in Monte Rio, he was always active in participating and supporting local events and other endeavors which improved and enhanced his community that he so dearly loved. Lee was comforted by his family and many friends over his final days and will be missed by all who knew him.
He was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by his brother Michael (Valerie) Torr, sister Michele (Mark) McDonell and brother Brian Torr; nieces Gabriella Torr and Kelsey (Arthur) Miller and her children Aubree and Harrison, and nephews Kyle Torr, Patrick McDonell and Christopher McDonell, as well as his best friend, Frederik Norgaard and his son Cole, whom he regarded as his adopted nephew.
The Mass and Christian burial took place on Friday, Jan. 3, at 11 a.m. at St. Catherine’s church and cemetery in Monte Rio, with a reception held afterward at Occidental’s Union Hotel.
The family prefers donations in Lee’s memory go to the following charitable organizations: Russian River Historical Society, Cardinal Newman High School or the Monte Rio Fire Services Foundation. Online condolences at PleasantHillsMemorialPark.com.
