Francis “Jerry” Torborg
St. Cloud
November 22, 1932 - June 29, 2023
Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 AM on Friday, July 7, 2023 at St. Peters Catholic Church in St. Cloud for Jerry (Francis Gerhard) Torborg 90, of St. Cloud who passed away on June 29th at his home. Rev. Jeremy Ploof will officiate. Visitation will be from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM on Thursday, July 6 at Williams Dingmann Funeral Home in St. Cloud and an hour before the mass Friday at the church. Parish Prayers will be at 5:00 PM on Thursday. Burial will be at Assumption Cemetery.
Jerry was born on November 22, 1932 to Herman A. Torborg and Theresia Behnen in Richmond, MN. In January 1936, when Jerry was three years old, his father died leaving his mother with five living children. His uncle, Alex Behnen, came to help with the farm work and to live with his family. He attended country school and when he was thirteen years old his uncle Alex died. Then his mother was able to rent out their farm and moved the family to the town of Richmond, where he and his siblings lived in his teenage years. He then attended St. Boniface High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota from 1946-1950. He worked at Willenbring Implement for Andrew Willenbring from 1949-1953. He served in the Army from 1953-1955 and came back and started as a student at the University of Minnesota. He received his Mechanical Engineering Degree in 1961. He moved to St. Cloud in the spring of 1961 starting work at DeZurik Corp as a project engineer in Sartell, Minnesota. In September 1968 he started teaching Engineering Technology at St. Cloud State University for 29 years, retiring in May of 1997.
Jerry married Eileen Wiener on June 14, 1958 in Padua, MN, she passed away on October 24, 1966 in a car accident. Together they had a baby girl who was born and died on March 11, 1960 in Minneapolis, a daughter Susan born January 12, 1962 and died in a car accident on October 24, 1966, and a son Gregory who was born and died April 23, 1963. Jerry married Ione Wieber Danzl on December 30, 1967. He adopted Lori Danzl Torborg in 1968 and had a son Joel Francis Torborg in 1972.
Jerry is survived by daughter Lori (Kevin) Hengel and son Joel (Amanda), grandchildren Josh Hengel, Melanie (Eric) Hengel O’Toole, Rece Torborg, and Rylee Torborg, great grandchild Blayke O’Toole and sister Leona Schleper.
He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Eileen in 1966, second wife Ione in 2020; siblings, Mary Ann (Ludwig) Braegelmann, Tharsilla (Melvin) Gertken, Theresa (Ramon) Mendiola, Robert and Valentine.