The simple cliché, "A mother's love," creates a mythology of thought. In the eyes of Anita Brenner Torres, Andrew's mom, I saw the power of a mother's love and as we spoke about her son she lovingly explained his life. The connections that she created to Andrew did not have a sense of finality but instead demonstrated that his memory is alive and well. As Anita spoke, she often clutched the necklace that Andrew gave her. It was the Eagle, Globe and Anchor, the symbol of the Marines.
A father's devotion is hardly definable. Leonard Torres, Andrew's dad, honors Andrew by his commitment to his son's memory through supporting the Huntington Medical Research Institutes (HMRI). HMRI is an independent, non-profit, organization dedicated to improving health and prolonging life by enhancing knowledge of life processes and disease and by developing technology to diagnose and treat disease.
With piercing eyes set deep within a chiseled face, Leonard, a former Marine captain and part of one of the most elite units in our military, (forced recognizance) and who fought in some of the Corps' toughest fights in Vietnam, said that prior to Andrew's death his son asked him to become involved in finding a cure for cancer. Anita and Leonard promised to do so. I knew that as a Marine officer, Leonard understood the essence of a promise, a covenant between themselves and their son's memory. Thus, they established the "Andrew Torres Memorial Golf Tournament."
This year, the tournament is scheduled for Monday, 31 July. The "Memorial Classic" incorporates a day of golf, lunch, dinner at the La Cañada Flintridge Country Club, and various auctions.
