Marian “Kirk” Kirkpatrick Torian
July 16, 1921 – August 28, 2015

Marian “Kirk” Torian, age 94, passed away peacefully Friday morning, August 28, 2015 at her home in Mequon, WI. She was with her daughter, Sarah Torian Schroeder at the time.

In addition to Sarah, Kirk is survived by her grandchildren, Katherine Schroeder Linney of Seattle, WA, and John Schroeder of Palo Alto, CA. She is preceded in death by her parents, Fredrick and Bernice Kirkpatrick, her husband, Thomas S. Torian, her son, Timothy S. Torian all of Mishawaka, IN and her brother, James Kirkpatrick of Brehnam, TX.

Born in Mishawaka, IN in 1921, Kirk attended Milwaukee-Downer College, graduating in 1944 with a degree in political science and economics. After graduation, she moved to Paulsboro, NJ to work in the laboratories of Socony Vacuum Oil before moving back to Mishawaka. It was there that she met and married Thomas “Tim” Torian, her devoted husband for nearly 34 years.

Upon her return to Mishawaka, Kirk focused on a life long commitment of service to her community. She was the first female board member and then chairman of Mishawaka Federal Savings Bank. Kirk could be heard frequently telling others what a great place Mishawaka was and truly believed in the merits of giving back to her hometown. Over the years she provided her unique brand of leadership to a wide variety of boards including the St. Joseph County United Way, the Mishawaka “Res”, the South Bend Regional Art Museum, the Mishawaka Family YMCA, the Mishawaka Council of Camp Fire Girls and the Tri Kappa Sorority. She served as the campaign advisor to the four term republican mayor of Mishawaka and was an active member of the Mishawaka City Plan Commission.

In 2002, Kirk moved to Mequon, WI and immediately rededicated herself to fundraising for the Lawrence-Downer Legacy Circle. In 2012, she was the recipient of the Gertrude Breithaupt Jupp MD ’18 Outstanding Service Award recognizing the impact she had on establishing a robust college endowment.

Kirk was a true environmentalist long before it was popular and instilled her love of nature to all those around her. She exposed countless numbers of the next generation to the wonders of nature through her role as a science and math teacher at Mishawka’s Battell Elementary School.

Memorial Services in Mishawaka are planned for a later date. Donations can be made to “Preservation of the Res”, Mishawaka, Indiana (www.mishawakares.org) or to The Milwaukee-Downer Scholarship Fund at Lawrence University.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Marian "Kirk" Kirkpatrick Torian, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.