Coach Fidel Torres

Fidel C. Torres, "Coach Torres" to thousands of Taos County students, passed away Saturday morning at his home surrounded by family. He was 88 years old having been born on Feb. 16, 1930. He was fifth in a family of eleven children. He is preceded in death by his parents, Fidel and Elvira S. Torres, by his older sisters, Lourdes Maes and her husband, Abiguel, Loyola Montoya and her husband, Horace, Rumalda Montoya, Barbara Merhege and her husband, James, his younger brother, Frank and his wife Cecilia and his grandsons Patrick Torres and Christopher Torres. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Virginia, and by his five children, Stephen (Renetta), Robert (Patricia), Paul (Betsy Lynn), Carla (Terry Trujillo) and Novella (Isaac Herrera). He also had 14 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. He was a graduate of Taos High School. After graduation he enlisted in the U. S. Army where he served during the Korean conflict. Upon discharge he attended college at Highlands University where he earned a teaching degree. He then entered upon a teaching career of 22 years, several in Penasco and the majority in Taos at the junior high. He was a farmer and rancher and loved hunting and fishing. He was a past member of the Kiwanis Club of Taos and was a member of the Knights of Columbus in Taos. He was a lifelong parishioner of St. Francis Parish where he participated in many of the annual enjares. Eulogy will begin at 12:30 PM on Friday, October 19, 2018 at San Francisco de Asis Catholic Church with funeral mass immediately following at 1:00 PM. Arrangements by Rivera Family Funeral Home, Taos. To share a memory, please visit our website at www.riverafuneralhome.com