William Abner Torrey Jr.

William A. Torrey, Jr., of Oxford, formerly of Salisbury, died at his home in Oxford on Sunday, January 22, 2006. He was 78. Born in Washington, D.C., September 11, 1927, he was the son of the late William A. and Helen Fisk Torrey. He was raised in Washington and educated at Woodrow Wilson High School and George Washington University. He was drafted out of high school to play professional baseball by the New York Yankees. He played for their farm system and, later, for the farm system of the Washington Senators which included the Eastern Shore League. He served in the U. S. Army as a medical technician in the late 1940”s. Following his baseball career, he joined the family automobile dealership in Washington, the Torrey Motor Co. which had been established by his father in 1926. In 1963, he and his family moved to Salisbury, MD where he established Torrey Dodge. In 1968, he added Toyota to their line of cars, thus becoming one of the first Toyota dealers in the Eastern United States. In 1972, he expanded the dealership again and added Mercedes-Benz to his growing business. He sold the dealerships in 1982. In 1984, he and his wife moved to Oxford where he came out of retirement to join John Hanson Savings and Loan Association as Vice-President, directing their sales training for the bank until his retirement in 1989. A Scottish Rite Mason for fifty years, he was a Past Master of Benjamin B. French Lodge, No 15, A.F. & A. M. in Washington. Other memberships included the Tred Avon Yacht Club in Oxford where he had chaired the building committee which built the present clubhouse and where he served as Commodore in 1996-97; the Poplar Island Yacht Club, the Oxford Museum and the St. Michaels Breakfast Club. He had served as a Port Warden in Oxford for many years and was a volunteer at the Memorial Hospital Regional Cancer Center. He dearly loved his family, friends, sailing, tennis and life. Mr. Torrey is survived by his wife, the former Jeanne Young whom he married in 1950; three sons, William A. Torrey, III and his wife, Pam, of Bath, Maine; Robert Y. Torrey and his wife, Donna of Salisbury and John F. Torrey of Danville, CA and eight grandchildren, Emily and Katherine Torrey of Maine, Erin Torrey Ranney of Richmond, VA, Megan, Ashley and Zachary Torrey of Salisbury and Candace and James Torrey of California. A sister, Betty Lee Winstead, is deceased. Memorial Services will be held on Friday, January 27th, at 2 P.M. at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Easton, MD where he attended. Private Inurnment services, with Masonic Graveside services, will be at the Oxford Columbarium in the Oxford Cemetery, Oxford, MD. Memorial donations, in lieu of flowers may be made to the Talbot Hospice Foundation, 586 Cynwood Drive, Easton, MD 21601 or to the Oxford Volunteer Fire Company, P. O. Box 421, Oxford, MD 21654.