Saturday, April 18, 2009

Obituary: Frances Weaver

Frances Weaver Funeral Tuesday

Funeral services for Frances Weaver, 24, 637 E. Dayton st., who died Saturday, will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. in the Fitch-Lawrence Funeral Home. Elder Robert Thomas, Chicago, of the fourth episcopal district of the African Methodist church, will conduct the services. Burial will be in Forest Hill cemetery.

Miss Weaver had been employed as a cosmetician at the William Busch beauty salon. She become ill while at work Thursday and was taken to a hospital.

Miss Weaver was born in Madison and received her education in Madison grade schools and in Central high where she was graduated in 1922. She was also a graduate of the Madison Beauty school.

Note: The above was originally published in the Obituary Section of the Wisconsin State Journal on March 10, 1947. At this time, obituaries were still "news stories," written by newspaper staff, not families.

The graduation date for Frances Weaver is obviously a typo. If she was 24 in 1947, she was probably born in 1922 or 1923. I've been unable to determine when she graduated, but it was probably in the early 1940s.

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Obituary: Dr. Albert Tormey, Sr. - Class of 1910

Dr. Albert Tormey, Sr., 79, of 1228 Sherman Ave., one of the outstanding surgeons in the history of Madison and a physician here for over 50 years, died Thursday in a Madison hospital.

Dr. Tormey was a well-known athlete both at the old Madison High School and at the University of Wisconsin, and was recently named to the Madison Sports Hall of Fame. He was to have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame June 3. He will now be enshrined posthumously.

Dr. Tormey was born in Madison in 1891. His parents, Mrs. and Mrs. Thomas Tormey, were early pioneers in the city.

He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1914 with a bachelor of arts degree and received his M.D. degree in 1917 from Washington University in St. Louis. He served his internship at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis and Augustana Hospital in Chicago.

He was a veteran of World War I, serving in France with the rank of captain. From 1925 to 1939 he was a major in the Wisconsin National Guard.

He was elected to the American College of Surgeons in 1925 and was a past president of the Dane County Medical Society. He served several terms as a delegate to the State Medical Society and headed its Committee on Health and Welfare for many years.

He also served as chief surgeon for the Madison Gas and Electric Co., and the Wisconsin Power and Light Co., and was district surgeon for the North Western Railroad.

He was a vice president and the medical director of the National Guardian Life Insurance Co.

Dr. Tormey was an enthusiastic backer of University of Wisconsin athletics and served as president of the National "W" Club in 1949-50. He also was an alumni member of the U.W. Athletic Board for four terms, 1939-43.

Dr. Tormey was a member of the 1909 Madison High School football team that won the state championship and a key player on the 1912 University of Wisconsin football team which won the Big ten championship.

Dr. Tormey's greatest individual athletic feat came in track, where he set a world record for the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds. His time still stands as a Wisconsin record.

Dr. Tormey's hobbies also included golfing and traveling.

While he was in school he was a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity, and Sigma Sigma social medical fraternity.

He was a member of the American Legion, Knights of Columbus, Madison Club, Maple Bluff Country Club, and St. Patrick's Catholic Church.

In 1921 he married Beatrice Barnes who died in 1932.

Dr. Tormey is survived by one son, Albert Jr., a physician in Temple, Texas; three daughters, Beatrice, Madison; Mrs. Robert Higgins, Dallas, Texas; and Mrs. William Keefe, Milwaukee; and two sisters, Julia, 1228 Sherman Ave., and Mrs. James T. O'Hora, 1917 Regent St.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Monday in St. Patrick's Catholic Church. Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the Frautschi Funeral Home, 120 E. Wilson St., where the rosary will be recited at 8 p.m.

Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, the UW Athletic Department, or to the donor's favorite charity.

Originally published in The Capital Times on May 29, 1970.

Note: Albert Tormey's class year is based on information in the 1910 Tychoberhan, for which he served as manager.