Kathryn W. (Weiss) Torgeson

Kathryn W. Torgeson

Proud mom, devoted friend, tireless worker, and lifelong lover of travel, cooking, collecting, and conversation, Kathryn Welker (née Weiss) Torgeson passed away on November 19, 2021 at the age of 95.

Born September 18, 1926 in Philadelphia, PA, Kathryn grew up in a Pennsylvania Dutch family with long roots “up country” in the Perkiomen Valley area where she and her parents James and Katie, and brother Francis frequently visited.

Kathryn worked at Leeds & Northrup in Philadelphia during WWII before attending Bryn Mawr College graduating with a degree in chemistry in 1947. She worked as a biochemist at the Institute for Cancer Research before moving to New York City and joining Borden where she met Dewayne C. Torgeson of North Dakota at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research in Yonkers.

After marrying Dewayne in 1959, Kathryn worked at General Foods before launching a freelance career as a scientific indexer, surrounding her family with page proofs and index cards as she contributed to hundreds of texts rushing to meet publisher deadlines while raising three children. She continued to index and copyedit (eventually switching to a computer) into her eighties.

In Westchester and after moving to Ithaca, NY in 1978, Kathryn was a committed volunteer and a devoted member of many women’s causes and clubs throughout her life.

Kathryn is survived by her children James of Lockport, NY; Kristina of Ithaca, NY; and Sander of Portland, OR, and his wife Chrissy and their family; as well as her nephew Geoffrey Weiss, niece Pam Foster, and their families.

Thank you to the staff of Kendal at Ithaca and Brookdale who lovingly cared for Kathryn during her last years.

Kathryn is being laid to rest at New Goschenhoppen Church in East Greenville, PA. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Kathryn’s honor to the Bryn Mawr College Fund.

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