Dr. Oliver Eugene Torkelson

Dr. O. E. Torkelson Dies in Cheyenne Sun.

Dr. O. E. Torkelson, 59, Lusk physician and surgeon for 27 years, died early Sunday morning at DePaul Hospital in Cheyenne. He had fought a courageous battle against cancer for the past 2 ½ years and during much of that time continued his practice. Funeral service were held Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.

The Rev. Fred Schuett of St. Paul's Lutheran Church officiated at the services held from the Peet Chapel. Casket bearers were Dr. Thomas A. Ward, Casper; Cecil Stark, Douglas; Glen Cates, Cheyenne; Otto Krekeler, Robert Templeton and Roscoe Kilmer, Lusk. Mrs. J. P. Watson was organist and she accompanied Dr. Richard Collins as he sang "The Lord's Prayer." Burial was in the Lusk Cemetery.

Most Lusk businesses were closed for the service. The Niobrara County Hospital staff, Order of Eastern Star, P.E.O. Sisterhood attended the services in bodies. There was standing room only in the Peet Chapel.

Oliver Eugene Torkelson was born July 6, 1908, at Black River Falls, Wis., to Theodore B. Torkelson and Serena Kjellan. He was reared in Bowman, N. Dak. He received his medical training at Rush Medical College, which has since been consolidated with the University of Chicago, and Cook County (Illinois) Hospital. He received his M. D. in 1933.

He and Frances Rayburn of Waco, Texas, were married May 2, 1935. They were the parents of three children: Anthony Rayburn, Champaign, Ill.; Mrs. James (Cynthia) Hirsig, Seattle, Wash.; Richard Eugene, a student at the University of Colorado Medical College, Denver.

Dr. Torkelson practiced one year in Aledo, Ill., and was associated four years in Casper with Dr. N. E. Morad before coming to Lusk in 1940. For several years he operated his own hospital, and later that hospital became the Niobrara Memorial Hospital. In 1966 he constructed his own clinic in the Lusk business district.

He was a member of the American Medical Association, American Academy of General Practitionaires, Wyoming Medical Society, Masonic Lodge, Lusk Lions Club, Elks Lodge and Lusk Congregational Church. He was a breeder of fine Arabian horses.

Survivors include his widow, Frances; two sons Anthony and Richard; one daughter, Cynthia Hirsig; father, Theodore B. Torkelson, Bowman, N. Dak.; two sisters, Mrs. Paul (Dorothy) Clark, Los Angeles, Calif.; and his twin sister Mrs. Richard (Eugenie) Butler, San Francisco, Calif.; three granddaughters, Magda, Annelise and Michele Torkelson.

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