Marian Salters Torrence

Marian Robbie Salters Torrence of Little Rock, Ark., passed peacefully on November 4, 2016. She was born June 6, 1926 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The daughter of the late Reuben Salters and the late Lillian Cohen Salters. She graduated from Carver High School in 1943 and attended Stillman Institute from 1943 to 1945, graduating with honors. She then attended Tennessee State University from 1946 to 1948, where she graduated with honors and was inducted into the Alpha Psi chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. It was at Tennessee State where she met the love of her life, Andrew Pumphrey Torrence. On June 25, 1948 the two were united in holy matrimony. After graduating from Tennessee State, Marian obtained a Master's degree in Business Education from the University of Wisconsin in 1951. Dr. and Mrs. Torrence were blessed with two children, Kenneth Gerald Torrence and Andrea Esther Torrence. After the death of her husband in 1980, Marian became a member of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church where she served faithfully for over 30 years. Her job experience included teaching civics, english, algebra, Negro history, business education, typing and shorthand at Tuskegee Institute High school and Dunbar in Little Rock, Arkansas until retirement. She was a member of Links Inc., NAACP, Alpha Kappa Alpha. While living with her husband Dr. Andrew P. Torrence, President of Tennessee State University. While at Tennessee State, she organized the TSU Women's Club and served on the Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters, the Urban League and Planned Parenthood. Her hobbies included gardening, bridge, sewing and reading Gothic novels. Her immediate family survivors include her children, Kenneth and Andrea and her brothers, Glenard and Peter Salters. A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, November 12, 2016, 11 a.m., at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, 1400 South Ringo Street, Little Rock, Ark. Interment will follow at Fraternal Cemetery. Family visitation: Friday, November 11, 2016, 6-7 p.m., at Ruffin & Jarrett Funeral Home, 1200 S. Chester St., LR (501) 372-1305.