Wini Thorsen, 92, died peacefully at home on Tuesday August 25, 2015.
Winifred Hoyle Thorsen was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 19, 1923. Sadly, her mother died when she was 6 months old and she was raised mainly by her paternal grandmother.
Wini graduated from Erasmus Hall High School and Brooklyn College. In 1944, her junior year, she met and married Torger Thorsen who was in the Norwegian Merchant Marine. They were married for 61 years.
After the war, Torger and Wini joined the Norwegian Air Force and were based in Canada. Wini enjoyed working as a chauffeur and Torger began training to become a pilot. However, he was not successful and the couple returned to Brooklyn. In 1946, the Norwegian government gave them a free passage to Norway (a bonus given to sailors who had sailed in the Atlantic convoys during the war). Living in Norway was an adventure, but times were hard there after the war and there was a shortage of both housing and work. After 18 months they returned to the United States and lived in Lynbrook, New York, until their retirement.
Wini became a research assistant at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and took advantage of the free courses offered to employees. She graduated with a Master of Science in operations research and became an engineer computer analyst with Sperry (UNISYS).
Wini and Torger were a very active couple. They enjoyed skiing, tennis, archery, golf and dancing. Wini was an avid bridge player, her skills honed by a daily lunchtime game while working at Sperry! They were members of the Long Island Ski Club and spent many winter weekends skiing in Vermont. When they retired in 1985, they made their home on East Warren Road in Warren.
Wini and Torger had no children of their own; however, after the war they shared their home in Lynbrook with Torger’s sister and family. They remained close to Torger’s family and there were many visits back and forth over the years.
In retirement, Wini and Torger hosted several Rotary exchange students from Sweden, Norway, South Africa and South America. Some of these relationships endured also with communication and visits back and forth.
Torger died in 2005 after several years of declining health. Wini cared for him faithfully and tirelessly during these years and missed him greatly afterward.
In Vermont, Wini was as active as ever. She bowled, played golf and tennis, skied and gardened. She was a Meals on Wheels driver and a duplicate bridge player, a member of Northfield Golf Club and the Mad River Valley Seniors. She was an enthusiastic member of the Valley Rotary, editor of the Vale News and the person who kept a succession of Rotary presidents on their toes! She continued most of these activities into her 92nd year.
Wini was always energetic and forthright. She put her heart and soul into everything she did. She accepted her recent illness with good grace, made her plans and spent her last weeks in her own home as she wished.
A Memorial Service will be held for Wini at Warren United Church on Saturday, September 12, 2015, at 11 a.m. There will be a reception afterward at the Warren Town Hall.
In lieu of flowers please send donations to Mad River Valley Ambulance Service, P.O. Box 305, Waitsfield, VT 05673, or Mad River Valley Rotary Club, P.O. Box 267, Waitsfield, VT 05673.
