Carl W. Toreson

Carl Wilhelm Toreson died peacefully early Friday morning, July 30, 2021. He was born on March 7th, 1930 at Melrose Hospital to Carl Victor and Elin Katherine (Langstrom) Toreson. Carl lived in Malden, Portsmouth NH, and later in Mont Vernon, NH, then retired to Wells Maine for the past 25 years. Carl W. was predeceased by his wife of 57 years, Barbara Mae (Steele) Toreson and grandson Carl Spinosa. Carl is survived by his sister Elly (Toreson) Johnson, daughter Laurie Toreson and sons, William, Barry and Gary (Scott) Sykes. Carl and Barbara have 17 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. Carl joined the Navy at the age of 17 and was a veteran of the Korean war, having served aboard the USS Wallace E. Lund (DD703). Later, he worked at the Portsmouth Navy Yard and for the Federal Aviation Administration as a Radar Specialist deploying and maintaining air traffic control systems. He served as the volunteer Chief of Police in the village of Mont Vernon, NH. Carl was a wonderful father and a fair and honest friend. He would not judge others. He had grace, humility and a wisdom about him. He was practical, solid and level. He wanted nothing but the best for his family and friends. He was a joy to be with, well-read, had many interests and extremely talented in several areas. He loved sports, politics, history and even in his later years all sorts of current events. As we all know, he had wide variety of interests and keen intellect. Carl was extremely knowledgeable in many technical and household matters. He was a plumber, electrician, gardener and avid woodworker. He would answer questions and provide his wisdom in layman’s terms, which we all appreciated. He learned to ski at 50, built a boat at 60, and a home and a beautiful porch in his 70s. He was as handy as they come. He did more in his retirement than most of us will ever do in our lives. He will be dearly missed.