Lowell E. Torseth, 84

Lowell E. Torseth, age 84 of Northfield.

Lowell was born on August 6, 1927, to Gert and Ed Torseth. He grew up on a farm near Bay City, Wisconsin, and graduated from Red Wing High School in 1945.  Immediately drafted into the U.S. Army, he accepted an appointment two years later to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.  He graduated in 1951, was commissioned a Second Lieutenant, and began a distinguished career that was to include assignments at various posts in the U. S., Germany, and Korea.  His last assignment was at the Foreign Science and Technology Center in Washington, D.C.  After retiring from the Army in 1969 as a Lieutenant Colonel, he served for more than 20 years as Executive Secretary of the Minnesota State Board of Engineering, Architecture, Land Surveying, and Landscape Architecture.  In this position, he was also active on the national level.

On November 13, 1954, he married Elaine Brohaugh at Eidsvold Lutheran Church in Esdaile, Wisconsin—the church in which both he and Elaine had been baptized and confirmed.  In 1970, they settled in Old Cottage Grove, Minnesota, where they lived for almost 40 years.  They were married for more than 55 years at the time of Elaine’s death in 2010.   Lowell’s last years were spent in Northfield, Minnesota, and he died there February 22, 2012.  Survived by his two daughters and their families: Kathy and Mark Granquist and their children Elisabeth and Robert of Northfield; and Laurel and Kevin Bornholtz and their children Kristina and Daniel of Woodbury.  Lowell is also survived by a brother, Marlin, and his wife, Janice, of Hager City, Wisconsin, and by several nieces and nephews.  Besides his wife, family members who preceded him in death include his parents and his brother Merlin.

Lowell was a gentle, unpretentious man, a generous provider for his family, a devoted husband, a supportive, nurturing father.  He had a strong interest in politics and world affairs, and he was a lifelong fan of the Baltimore Orioles. 

A memorial service will occur at Eidsvold Lutheran Church in Esdaile, Wisconsin, 2:00 p.m. on March 3, 2012.   Memorials preferred to Eidsvold Lutheran Church or the West Point Fund.

Arrangements are with the Benson & Langehough Funeral Home. www.northfieldfuneral.com