Joe Torres

Joe Torres Sr. Beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather and brother Joe Martinez Torres passed away Monday, April 27, 2015, at St. Luke's Magic Valley Regional Medical Center in Twin Falls, Idaho. He was 85. Joe was born March 22, 1930, in San Antonio, Texas, the oldest child of Mauricio Lopez Torres and Andrea Martinez Torres. He attended school through the second grade, at which time he had to leave school to help support the family by working as a migrant farm worker with the family throughout the country. He married Trinidad "Trini" Ybarra on Dec. 21, 1952, in West Memphis, Tenn. They moved to Twin Falls in 1954. To this union was born two sons and seven daughters. Trini Torres died Nov. 7, 2012, and Joe missed her deeply. Joe was an avid sports fan all his life, particularly a fan of Professional Boxing and the Dallas Cowboys. As a youth, he was a bantamweight boxer, remaining undefeated through his career of 20 - 0. He was a self-taught guitar player, particularly enjoying music from his Mexican heritage, and had a beautiful singing voice. He was an expert with a yo-yo and enjoyed showing his children and grandchildren yo-yo tricks. Joe worked most of his life in agricultural-related fields. He ran a firefighting crew for the U.S. Forest Service called the Imperials that included his two sons. He also worked for the Amalgamated Sugar Co. during its sugar campaign. Much of his work was for area farmers, contracting labor crews to work in their fields. He had an excellent reputation as a hard worker and for getting the job done. Joe is survived by his son, Jesse (Meg) Torres of Denver, Colo., daughters Margaret (Bill) Bradshaw of Idaho Falls, Rebecca Torres of Twin Falls, Virginia (Cliff) Gambrel of Kimberly, Shirley (Burton) Webb of Twin Falls, Janet (Larry) Carlson of Redmond, Wash., Rachel (Tim) Mueller of Houston, Texas, and Teresa (Allen) Easterling of Twin Falls; 21 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren with at least one on the way; brothers Elias Torres and Ruben Morales of San Antonio; sister Vidalia "Bey" Torres Rodriguez, of San Antonio; and numerous nieces and nephews. Joe was preceded in death by his wife of nearly 60 years, Trini, a son, Joe "Pieco" Torres Jr., his parents and brothers Jesus Torres and Manuel Torres and Santigo "Cali" Morales Jr. A memorial service will be held Friday, May 1, 2015 at 10:00 A.M. at Parke's Magic Valley Funeral Home, 2551 Kimberly Rd in Twin Falls. Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.magicvalleyfuneralhome.com