Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Dear Tormey Family:
I want to extend to you, belatedly, my sincerest condolences. Brian--who, to me, will always be "Mr. Tormey"--was my junior high science teacher in what must have been his first year or two in State College. He also, at that time, happened to be a grad student of my father's in the PSU Department of Geography. He was, as you well know, a natural and very gifted teacher, getting me excited about a subject that, up til then, had not, truth be told, greatly interested me. I still remember his introducing us to the concept of "the greenhouse effect" and the fun I had, under his direction, researching and presenting a talk to the class based on an article I had read in Scientific American on, of all things, the construction of violins (I was a violinist) that included a demonstration of how to visualize sound wave forms, using a lit candle and whistling across the top of the flame at various pitches to see how they changed. I also remember how, one day, I brought in a book from home that had introduced me for the first time (through the visual of someone watching a train pass by as they observed a passenger moved through the train cars) to Einstein's Theory of Relativity in a way I could "get," discussing it with him excitedly, and how he encouraged me to explore the subject in more depth. I liked his teaching so much that, when I later had the opportunity in high school, I took his Oceanography and Geology class, which also left me with some great memories, including a field trip the Delaware shore to do wave experiments.
I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to study with him before he left high school teaching and started his long career as a college professor, where, I'm sure, he sparked a love of science in many others, as well.
I want to end this remembrance of mine with the well-known Irish saying that I heard for the first time when he wrote it on the blackboard for my junior high science class at the end of the school year--a saying that has stayed with me all these years and which I find so beautiful:
"May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields."
Please know that you are in my thoughts during what I know must be a very difficult time, as you mourn not just his passing, but also the sad passing of his wife and daughter.
