Torre R. Bissell

Torre Rarden Bissell passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 5, 2026, at the age of 87, surrounded by loved ones. He was a friend to the lonely, a comfort to the least, and a companion to those in need – delighting in blessing others through a kind word, a spontaneous prayer, and generous gifts of time and resources.

Born on December 7, 1938, in Tucson, AZ to Wadsworth Bissell and Hillary Nelle (Rarden) Bissell, Torre moved frequently as a child due to his father’s work as an industrial engineer and management consultant, attending 10 schools by grade seven. He graduated Central High School in 1956, received his bachelor’s degree in math from the University of Michigan in 1965, and his master’s degree in Accounting from the University of Albany, NY in 1978 shortly after the family’s return from Liberia. He became fascinated with computers during his master’s program, and every job until he retired at 74 involved creating computer applications or writing and teaching computer courses.

Raised by parents who believed deeply in the civil rights movement, Torre grew up in a family where the active fight against racial discrimination was normal dinner table conversation. Torre’s mother, Hillary, was very active with the NAACP in Michigan and other states. From a very young age, Torre and his brothers participated in this struggle in ways such as to help force the desegregation of Sioux City Iowa public swimming pools, and the fight against racial segregation in Grand Rapids public schools. Hillary received several letters from later Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall, for her work. Torre is a direct descendant of Melville and Anna Bissell of the Bissell company.

Torre was the second eldest of three brothers, both of whom preceded him in death. All three brothers followed completely different paths in life: Bret became a community organizer working tirelessly to uplift downtrodden communities, Trim became a fugitive and then, after time served, dedicated his life in service of migrant worker rights and physical therapy for the sick, and Torre became an Episcopal missionary, traveling the globe to share the love of Jesus.

Torre’s most cherished memories include: his conversion, baptism and confirmation at St. Mary’s Church in Belize, British Honduras on Guy Fawkes Day, Nov. 5, 1961; his service as a lay missionary teacher for the Order of the Holy Cross in Bolahun in the interior of Liberia; meeting his wife Jean in February of 1964, getting engaged 6 weeks later and married 6 weeks after that on May 21, 1964; and having seven children: 3 produced (Brereton, Jonathan and Sarah), 2 adopted (Hillary and Tamba), and 2 “found sons” (Stephen at 15 and Arthur at 21). In birth order: Brereton (“Brett”), Hillary, Tamba, Jonathan, Sarah, Stephen, and Arthur.

Other cherished memories include: serving with Jean as Sunday School superintendents for 13 years at Christ Church Schenectady; serving 17 years on the prayer table on State St in front of Christ Church and 7 years at the Schenectady City Mission, often with his friend Chuck Rinaldo; feeding dementia patients with his friend Chris Murphy “Murph”, at a nursing home in Amsterdam, NY after noticing that many were not receiving regular attention; sending out daily prayer notes beginning in the mid 1980s, then starting in the late 1980s to the diocese at the request of Bishop Dan Herzog; and regularly praying with Jean through their extensive Remembrance List, continually thanking God for his many answered prayers and blessings.

After becoming a follower of Jesus in his late 20s in British Honduras, Central America, Torre began his missionary journey in Africa, then returned to Michigan where he met and married Jean in a whirlwind three-month romance. They studied Nigerian Pidgin English and Ibo at Michigan State University and soon were sent out as missionaries together in Nigeria with 3-month-old Brereton, only to flee for their lives during the Biafran war. They resettled in Liberia, where Jean, a Yale divinity graduate, taught theology at a seminary, while Torre served as a school principal as well as science and mathematics teacher. During these years they had Brereton, adopted Hillary and then Tamba, later followed by the birth of twin siblings Jonathan and Sarah. They returned to the States in 1976, after which they settled in Upstate New York. After their children were grown, they welcomed Stephen and then Arthur into their home and loved them as their own.

No description of Torre could be complete without describing his soul mate of 52 years, Margaret Jean Robe Bissell, who preceded him through the gates of heaven on August 25, 2015, after a brief bout with dementia. During her last six months at home, she and Torre often sat side by side and listened to hymns on YouTube for an hour or two each evening, with Jean often asking for “just one more.” Jean was Torre’s confidant, his best friend, his spiritual partner, his emotional outlet, his beloved wife, and the mother of their many children. Together they created a family unlike any other – a source of endless joy and pride for them throughout their years.

Prior to marriage, Jean served as a lay missionary with the Methodist Church, teaching in Kinnaird College for Women in Pakistan for three and a half years before getting her M. Div. from Yale Divinity School in 1959. After marriage, Torre and Jean served for 10 years with the Episcopal Church in West Africa (mostly Liberia) as lay missionaries. Their first assignment as a couple was in Port Harcourt, in the Eastern Region of Nigeria, which ended with the beginning of the Nigerian Civil War in 1967. Their next assignment was to the Episcopal High School in Robertsport, Liberia for four years. Then, in July 1971 they were baptized in the Holy Spirit while on leave. After this they returned to Liberia and served at Cuttington College for five years, where Torrie was principal and full-time teacher at the Campus School while Jean taught theology at the Gbarnga School of Theology and Cuttington College. They were profoundly and beautifully shaped by their years in Africa.

In addition to filling his children’s childhood with wonderful stories, Torre was a natural and gifted teacher and storyteller in every setting: bringing the good news to others, sharing his faith and praying for the street people of Schenectady, and teaching advanced computer programming to engineers and naval personnel. Torre taught them all with the same irreverent joy, humor, and storytelling mastery — often involving large snakes, spiders and scorpions. He was possessed of an incredible ability to solve difficult problems, and an irrepressible desire to tweak the noses of those in authority.

Torre had many unusual skills and hobbies, including silkscreening – of which he gifted hundreds over the years, creating elaborate paper polyhedrons, wood carving, bread making, writing with perfect precision both upside down as well as upside down and backwards (he sometimes sent his children to school with notes that could only be read when held in a mirror), rapidly saying the alphabet backwards, making ginger marmalade and marshmallows, coin collecting, learning Arabic, origami, balancing objects, and conjuring up puns at the drop of a hat.

Despite describing himself as amongst the least athletically gifted of men, Torre possessed a raw natural courage to walk where others feared to tread. He lived by the motto that life was an adventure, and with deep faith in his heavenly “Abba” Father whom he relied upon no matter what life circumstance came his way. He regarded life as a gift and those he met as companions to be loved, prayed and cared for along the trails and trials of life.

He now wears an eternal crown of glory, accompanied by his wife Jean, friends and companions too numerous to count, and his beloved Savior Jesus Christ. He is survived by his many children, grandchildren, and great–grandchild, who all miss him dearly.

The funeral service will be held on Saturday, July 11, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Christ Church Episcopal at 970 State Street, Schenectady, NY. 12307. Visitation will take place from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. before the service in the side chapel. 

In lieu of flowers please make contributions to Schenectady City Life, by clicking here, or by visiting, https://cdyfc.org/ministry/schenectady-city-life/