NEW HAMPTON -- Patricia E. Torsey, 87, passed away peacefully August 16, 2021, at her home on Lower Oxbow Road. She was born on September 16, 1933, at the Atwood family home in Bridgewater, NH, the daughter of Harold and Eda (Atwood) Prince.
Patricia was the oldest of 9 Prince children. Patricia married Kenneth Torsey in 1954 and they lived at Breezy Ridge Farm. Patricia and Kenneth raised milking shorthorn show cattle, chickens and pigs, and sold grain, eggs, hay and firewood.
Patricia lived in the same house from the time she was 3 until her death, was married to the love of her life for 56 years, and was fully dedicated to caring for her family and the farm. She made it her life's mission to reach out and impact the lives of neighbors in her community. Patricia ran the unofficial "sunshine club", helped found the New Hampton Kindergarten, made salads at the Common Man Restaurant, was very active in the New Hampton Community School PTA, and volunteered at the Red School House Thrift Shop. She held long memberships in the Ashland Methodist Women's Club, New Hampton Garden Club, New Hampshire Farm Bureau, and Squam Lakes Grange, was the first teacher's aide at New Hampton Community School, was a New Hampton Ballot Clerk and New Hampton Postal Worker, and served as a Belknap County 4-H Leader (New Hampton 4-H Hustlers) for decades.
Patricia and Kenneth took great pride in their farm, family, and friends. Breezy Ridge Farm grew into the largest working farm in New Hampton. A visit at the farm involved Patricia's coffee and homemade peanut butter fudge and hearty conversation. Patricia was a tiny powerhouse of strength and energy. She served as a ball girl for her son's summer soccer league, was known to rise to the dare to do a pull-up on her kitchen door frame and could lift more than her weight in grain well into her sixties. Patricia's strength, wisdom, and constant support shaped our lives and is irreplaceable.
Patricia was predeceased by her husband, Kenneth Stanley Torsey, brother Harold Prince, parents Harold and Eda Prince, and son-in-law Jeffrey Uhlman. She is survived by her children, Sherry and David Boynton, Dana and Jonann Torsey, Lynne Uhlman; grandchildren, David Boynton, Richard Boynton, Nathan Torsey, Dana Marie (Torsey) Turner, Kenneth Torsey, Jamie Lynne (Uhlman) Dauer, and Stephen Uhlman; 11 (and counting) great grandchildren; siblings, Clifton (Kippy) and Joyce Bavis, Chester (Chet) and Natalie Giverson, Daniel (Danny) and Gail Prince, Arthur Prince and Arlene Ober, Robert (Rocket) and Carol Prince-Adams, Pamela Prince, and Jeffrey and Jackie Prince; many cousins, nieces, nephews, and close friends.
A funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM Saturday, August 21, 2021, at the United Methodist Church on Washington Street in Ashland. Burial will be in Green Grove Cemetery in Ashland.
Memorial donations may be made to Belknap County 4-H Foundation, 61 Court Street Laconia, NH 03246.