Obituary of Helen Mae Torrance

Helen Mae Torrance, age 84 of 2801 Highway 6 East, Iowa City died Wednesday, September 15, 2004 at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City following a brief illness. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Monday at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City with the Reverend John Caldwell officiating. Entombment will be in the mausoleum at Memory Gardens Cemetery in Iowa City. Visitation will be from 3 to 7pm Sunday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Iowa City Hospice. Online condolences may be sent for Helen’s family through our website @www.gayandciha.com. Helen Mae Schenk was born December 29, 1919, in Hills, Iowa the daughter of Frank W. and Carrie (Pitlick) Schenk. She attended country school at the Liberty Township School in rural Johnson County. In 1938, she married Joseph A. Naughton in Davenport. Joe died in 1960. She later married Leo Torrance in 1971 in Nichols, Iowa. Leo died in 1997. For several years she was employed by the University of Iowa. She was a member of the Methodist Church, enjoyed her coffee club at Bon Aire, and most important in her life was her family, who she loved with all her heart and soul. Her family includes two daughters, Janet Simmons and friend, Steve Matuk of Los Angeles, CA, and Debbie Lewis and her husband, Daryl of Iowa City; six grandchildren, Scott Simmons, David Simmons, Sarah Rougeaux, Lydia Semaan, Darren Lewis, and Darcy Griffis; seven great-grandchildren, Lucas Simmons, Weston Simmons, Lillian, Samuel and Peter Rougeaux, Dalton Lewis, and Lane Griffis; brother, Stanley Schenk of Hills; and a sister, June Echrich of Sun City, AZ. She was preceded in death by her husbands, brother, Ray, and a sister, Ruby Mavis. Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service of Iowa city is caring for Helen’s family and her services.