With great sadness we share that our Dad, Dale Torrence, passed away on Sunday, August 25th, 2024, at the age of 92. Dale was born in 1931 and raised in Cornelius. He was a three-sport athlete in Cornelius High School’s 1950 graduating class of 32 students, where he enjoyed growing up in the (then) one stoplight town.

His first job was sweeping the floor at the local cotton mill, and he loved sharing stories about the area before Lake Norman was created and I-77 cut through is grandfather’s farm.

After graduating high school, Dale attended Mars Hill College in North Carolina for 2 years before volunteering for the draft to serve during the Korean War. Dale served as an MP in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany where he met his first wife Hannelore. Upon his return, Dale completed his education at the University of North Carolina graduating in 1956 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science before receiving his J.D. in 1959 from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Dale served 30 years as an attorney with the U.S. Customs Service in Washington, D.C., including a 5-year stint in Brussels, Belgium.  During his career with Customs and afterwards as a consultant, he travelled to all but one continent and over 120 countries.

Dale’s wife Hannelore passed away in 1990 after 37 years of marriage. He married Doris McGough and settled in Franklin, TN for almost 19 years before she passed in 2021. He had a love for his two children, Marc and Marga, four grandsons Marc,
Mitchell, Colin and Owen and a large extended family. Dale loved all things German, antique clocks and the UNC Tarheels.

There will be a graveside service in Cornelius in the coming months.