Résumé

Principal, Gerard Torrence, Structural Engineer, Seattle, WA.

Torrence was a member of the The Artists and Architects Group (TAAG), an association of UW faculty members who planned the now demolished Nuclear Reactor Building.

Teaching

Instructor, University of Washington, Seattle (UW), Seattle, WA, c. 1970s. He initially taught structures courses in the Department of Architecture, but later taught similar classes for the Department of Construction Management. According to Prof. Jeffrey Ochsner, Torrence won the Lionel Pries Teaching Award in the UW College of Architecture and Urban Planning in 1987. Torrence retired in about 1987.

High School/College

Torrence attended the Queen Anne High School, Seattle, WA, as freshman, in 1940.

Relocation

Torrence was born in 12/19/1925 in Bellingham, WA. He resided with his parents and two brothers at 2801 46th Avenue West in Seattle in 1940. The US Census of 1940 indicated that the Torrences lived in Canada in 1935. It appears that the family last resided in Inisfall, AB, Canada, before moving permanently to the US in about 1936. The house at 2801 46th Avenue West had an approximate value of $14,000 in 1940. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Seattle, King, Washington; Roll: m-t0627-04377; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 40-101A, accessed 03/05/2018.)

In 1945, he had a permanent address at 220 Olympic Place, Seattle, WA. In 01/1945, he attended the Naval Air Technical Training Center in Corpus Christi, TX. Torrence was a US Marine at the time.

In his 90s, Torrence lived in Bellevue, WA.

Parents

His father George Raymond Torrence (born 03/12/1897 in Watertown, SD,) worked as a the Secretary of the Colotyle Company in Seattle in 1936. See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Naturalization Records of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, 1890-1957; Microfilm Roll: 118; Microfilm Serial: M1542, accessed 03/06/2018.) Four years later, he was the manager of freight shipping company; Gerard's mother, Jeannette H. Torrence, (born 11/12/1895 in Firth, NE,) worked as the assistant manager in this shipping concern. They married in Lynden, WA, on 02/02/1923.

George Torrence was naturalized on 11/19/1936 in the US District Court for Western WA.

Gerard had two brothers, Floyd (born 03/03/1924 in Calgary, AB, Canada,) and Eugene William (born 04/03/1927 in Calgary, AB, Canada).

Spouse

Gerard R. Torrence married Charland Berg (born c. 1928) on 06/14/1947 in Seattle, WA.