Kenneth Norman Tornio, 90, of Turtle Lake, died Sunday, March 17, 2019, at his home. He was born May 17, 1928, in Turtle Lake, WI to Peter and Hileya  Tornio. At age 11, the family moved to a lumber camp in Bruce Crossing, MI. By eighteen, Ken had enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a heavy equipment operator building runways during the Korean War.

Ken returned to Turtle Lake and began working for Barron County Highway Department. He met a girl, Carol Gaffney, and proposed in a gravel pit. The two were married in St. Phillip's Episcopal Church - Turtle Lake on June 6, 1953. During these years, Ken played drums with his brothers at the Richardson Pavilion. He worked for AMPI for nearly fifteen years, then for dairy plants in Clear Lake and Glenwood City before settling in at Wisconsin Dairies in Barron as plant supervisor. In 1992, Ken entered a block of Colby cheese in the National Milk Producers Federation competition, earning the presidents award for best natural cheese. Ken retired in 1993 to focus on gardening, fishing, golfing poorly and listening to Minnesota Twins baseball in his hammock on his transistor radio.

He is survived by his wife, Carol of Turtle Lake; son, Chris (Amy) Tornio of Cumberland; grandchildren: Mady and Charlie Tornio, Julianna, Isaiah and Jordan Zacharias; great grandson, Sam; nieces, nephews and other relatives. Ken was preceded in death by nine siblings.

There will a visitation held from 4-7 PM Wednesday, April 3rd with a time for prayer and sharing memories at 6:30 PM at Skinner Funeral Home in Turtle Lake.

Last Update: Mar 22, 2019 7:30 am CDT