George Torrey
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The nature of George Torrey was to help others, but he was not someone who typically wanted to see his name on the projects that he put his financial backing behind.
A case in point is he was a major contributor to St. Cloud State University in getting new scoreboards for the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center and Husky Stadium. Morris Kurtz was the athletic director for the university at the time and had to push Torrey to allow the university to put the names and George and his wife, Shirley, on the scoreboards.
Torrey, who was one of the key financial donors behind St. Cloud State making the move to NCAA Division I hockey, died on June 10 at the age of 87.
“As a former college athlete, he understood the lessons and the values instilled in him when he was a student-athlete,” said Matt Andrew, St. Cloud State’s Vice President for University Advancement. “Those things are still being instilled and have value across a person’s lifetime.
“He understood that’s what we do at St. Cloud State. He was willing to invest in it, so much so that the last significant gift he made to the institution occurred after we dissolved our football program. I have great admiration for George. He could have quite easily said, ‘I’m done.’ But George valued and understood the university’s position in the community and, most importantly, he understood the impact intercollegiate athletics has on the individual.”
Read more: George Torrey’s generosity will not be forgotten at SCSU or in St. Cloud
