DAVENPORT, Iowa — The St. Ambrose University community is remembering the memory of a student who unexpectedly passed away before the Thanksgiving break.
Family, students and university staff packed the Christ the King Chapel, lining up against walls and spilling out into the lobby on Monday, Nov. 28 for a prayer service to remember Patrick Torrey.
Torrey was a senior on the men's basketball team. He passed away Saturday, Nov. 19.
"Patrick was known as a very fun-loving student with a radiant smile. Everybody who knew him loved him very much. He was very athletic, engaged," said Christopher Waugh, SAU's dean of students. "We lost a beloved fighting bee this week. And so our hope is that folks who see this will remember St. Ambrose University in your prayers as we grapple with this significant loss of Patrick Torrey."
He was studying psychology and Waugh said he wanted to be a children's therapist.
Torrey had played on the basketball team since coming to SAU in 2019. This year, he'd played in six games, starting in one, and averaged eight points and five rebounds a game.
Basketball Coach Ray Shovlain spoke during the prayer service and recalled seeing Torrey at his high school Christmas basketball tournament one year.
"In between the games, he'd walk around and there'd be 10 or 12 little munchkins, boys and girls in grade school, that idolized him," Shovlain said. "Between games, he'd sit down, he'd sit on the bleachers and they all hung around him and he provided them unbelievable attention.
He described Torrey as a man of integrity who always did the right thing when no one was watching and said there's a lot others can learn from him.
"Patrick was kind, generous, thoughtful to others every day, irrespective of who they were," Shovlain said. "He was a difference maker. He was a difference-maker in people's lives. He was a difference-maker in any organization. He was a difference-maker in any team.
The St. Ambrose University Campus Ministry office and Counseling Center are offering extended hours, group workshops and therapy dog visits to students seeking support.
Torrey is survived by his parents, Todd and Patricia, and his sisters, Christy and Olivia. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking memorials be made in his name to St. Joseph's Catholic School Angel Fund, PCHS Andrew "Eddie" Ford Scholarship or St. Ambrose University men's basketball program.
A Rosary prayer service in honor of Torrey will be held at 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2, followed by visitation from 5-7 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in his hometown Pekin, Illinois. The funeral mass will be held in the same place on Saturday at 11 am. and all are invited to attend a luncheon at 2 p.m. at the Pekin Moose Lodge.
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