Juan Torres

Juan Manual Torres was the first in his family to be born in America, on June 17, 1950, in Detroit, Michigan. His father worked in a factory for the Ford Motor Company. He was raised in the Catholic faith and went to St. Gabriel's Catholic School. Shortly after graduating from High School, he joined the United States Air Force and in 1970 was deployed to Vietnam. His service in the United States Armed Forces ignited a strong allegiance and patriotism to his country, his beloved America, which lasted through his entire life. Politics was his sport of choice next to basketball. His true passion was basketball, and he was good at it. He loved being challenged and he didn't let his 74 years or a hot humid day get in the way of going to the court.

In his working days, he had a weekly routine of coming home on Fridays and relaxing to a night of pool, beer, and his choice of music. Zak Brown and country was one of his favorites. His children would often bring their friends and join him. They were memorable nights of laid-back fun, and sometimes even dancing.

He married what he called his "Donna Reed from Royal Oak", Chris Doyle, on November 20, 1976. The American Bicentennial year. The perfect year to marry his American girl. They had six children together and from that crop, a yield of 22 grandchildren. He loved his wife beyond measure. They went through deep valleys and high hills together. They read the Bible and prayed together. Their children were their one true treasure and now their grandchildren.

He was so proud of his boys when they joined the military. Two went into the Air Force and two into the Marines, and his unofficial adopted son, Anthony, joined the Air Force. When they were deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, he asked God to take the angel that was assigned to him and send his angel to watch over his boys. I guess John must have thought his angel would do the job. All the boys came home.

When Chris's uncle, Jim, and dad were around, there were always card games of Poker and Euchre to play. John was very competitive and often won. He was not a good loser! He continued to play cards with friends in Grandville and faithfully taught his children and grandchildren. Whenever he felt bored, he would ask the kids to find a deck of cards.

John became employed with Manufacturers Nat'I Bank in 1975 becoming Security Operations Manager over the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Manufacturers merged with Comerica Bank in the 1990's. John retired in October of 2016 from Comerica, having been employed with the bank for over 40 years.

John and Chris moved from Livonia, Michigan, to Grandville, Michigan, in 2019 where they took residence at the Grand Castle Apartments. John loved the life of retirement and relished the happiness of being with his children and grandchildren. He loved John Wayne and Western movies, Star Trek, Star Wars, Sci-Fi, a good horror flick, and Fox News. His favorite foods were chicken, Chinese, and BBQ ribs. No fruits or vegetables if he could help it. But he did like watermelon and corn, apple juice and apple pie, and a good chocolate cake. He grabbed what he considered the best of life.

John was a member of Harvest Orthodox Presbyterian Church where he enjoyed the love of Christian fellowship, the blessing of new friends, and worshipping together his God and true Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Lord called John home on January 20, 2025. Inauguration Day. I believe he said good-bye to us with a wink. (“Scotty, beam me up.” )

Peace.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, January 25, at 11 a.m. at Harvest Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 930 52nd St. SW, Wyoming, with Pastor Dale Van Dyke officiating. The burial will take place at Fort Custer National Cemetery. Relatives and friends may visit with the family on Friday, January 24, from 2-8 p.m. at Matthysse Kuiper DeGraaf Funeral Home (Grandville) 4145 Chicago Dr. SW.