Glen Torno's Funeral

I went to Glenn Torno’s funeral the other day. I try to make every funeral of church members and their families that I can. It was pretty easy to attend this funeral. Glenn attended at Borden Street Church of Christ in Sinton, Texas. I had come to know him on a casual basis because of my relationship with his family. When we first moved to Corpus Christi in 1982 we met Ray and Linda Torno. Our kids grew up with their kids. Of course Glen’s other son Tim was at Parkway too but I had known him since college days.

Even before I met Glen I felt like I knew him because I knew his sons. Anyone who raised godly men like Ray and Tim must also be godly.

When I first met Glenn I sensed we had something in common… Glenn liked people. He was very gregarious and welcoming and Julie and I were even invited into their home. I was impressed.

I was also impressed to learn things about Glenn. Things like when he was 14 years old during the Depression he would drive a truck across the state delivering pipe. Farm raised kids aren’t like city raised kids. I also learned that he set the 440 record in Track and Field at Sinton high school. That record lasted until 1964 when his son Ray broke it.

I really enjoyed hearing what Keith Miller his oldest grandson had to say. Keith and his Paw Paw would leave Sinton in Glen’s old truck and his Paw Paw would start a story and that story wouldn’t end until they pulled up into the driveway in Bayside 30 minutes later. As a kid he used to be so bored with those stories. As an adult he wishes that he could hear them one more time. Keith said they would drive around looking at the cotton fields. As a kid he thought… all these cotton fields look alike. As an adult he wished he could just drive with his Paw Paw just one more time.

Of course those close to the family knew that Glenn developed Alzheimer’s and I guess he knew the progression of that horrible disease and kind of quit talking. Keith said Alzheimer’s took everything from Glen but it couldn’t take his soul… powerful words.

I hear Christians say frequently that “we just need to get to know each other better”. One of the best ways to get to know people is to go to the funerals of their families.

This was an easy funeral for me to go to for a lot of reasons. The truth is that if they had charged admission I would have been happy to pay it.

Rest in eternity Glen Torno, you did well.