The Torrance City Council recently honored five...

The Torrance City Council recently honored five residents with the Jared Sidney Torrance Award for lifetime service to the community. The awards, which were established in 1984, went to:

John Heinrich Hull, superintendent of the Torrance Unified School District from its founding in 1957 until his retirement in 1970. Born in 1908, Hull, who died in 1974, saw the number of students in the district rise from 2,000 to 34,000. He was credited with developing a model school district.

Albert Isen, the longest-tenured mayor in the city’s history. Isen, who died this year, served as mayor from 1955 until 1970, presiding over some 700 council meetings. He was cited for establishing the Armed Forces Day Parade in Torrance and the Torrance Youth Council. Other accomplishments include successful campaigns to have the Southwest District Superior Court located in Torrance, to construct the Civic Center complex and to get the city named an All-American City in 1956 by the National Municipal League.

John Shidler, a judge with the longest service on the bench of any jurist in California history. Although he retired officially in 1981 as a South Bay Superior Court judge, Shidler, who moved to Torrance in 1923, has continued to serve part-time without pay. He became a city judge in 1941 and was appointed to the Superior Court in 1960. Shidler also served on the Torrance school board.

George Stevens, Torrance’s first city manager. Stevens, who served as city manager from 1948, when the council-manager form of government was adopted, until he resigned in 1961, shepherded the city through its most rapid period of growth, in which the population grew from 40,000 to more than 100,000.

Polly Watts, a longtime Torrance board of education member and community activist.

Watts, whose interests have included the annexation campaign for the Victor Tract and planning for the Civic Center complex, was a founding member of the Torrance League of Women Voters. She served on the Torrance board of education from 1967 until 1981. Other activities include 11-year membership on the Torrance Memorial Hospital Board and volunteer service during the 1984 Olympics.

Vince Monroe Townsend Jr. and his wife, Lilyan Elizabeth Mansfield Townsend, will renew their wedding vows in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary during ceremonies scheduled for Dec. 27 at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, Los Angeles. Following the ceremony, a reception will be held in the Los Angeles Ballroom of the Century Plaza Hotel. Townsend sits as judge pro tempore in the Inglewood Municipal Court.

Donna Ward and Joanne Sato were recently honored with the Golden Triangle Award, the highest tribute paid to YMCA volunteers, by the Gardena Valley YMCA at its 43rd annual dinner. Ward is a 30-year member and has been active in the Y’s Men’s Club, Current Support Campaign and youth clubs. Sato, a nine-year member, was instrumental in organizing the YMCA’s preschool and is active in the Current Support Campaign. Also honored for their leadership in the 1987 campaign were May Doi, Frank Chandler and Grant Nakaoka.

Donna M. Palmer, director of financial aid for Loyola Marymount University, has been selected to appear in the 17th edition of “Who’s Who in California,” to be published in December. The Who’s Who Society recognizes Palmer for “outstanding professional achievement, superior leadership and exceptional service.” She is among about 6,000 Californians listed in the 1987 volume.

Dr. Carl G. Lundgren of Rolling Hills Estates has been awarded a fellowship in the American College of Dentists. The college, organized in 1920, recognizes those who have contributed to the advancement of the profession and humanity.

Susan Lynn Gordon of Manhattan Beach and Brian Joseph Connors of Redondo Beach were married in Our Lady Queen of Angels Church, Newport Beach. She is a graduate of USC and he of California State University, Long Beach. Her parents are Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Lee Gordon of Hacienda Heights and his are Mr. and Mrs. Francis Joseph Connors of Redondo Beach. Rick Siegel has been appointed administrator at Charter Pacific Hospital, Torrance. Siegel previously served as associate administrator at Charter Hospital of Mobile in Alabama.

Betty J. Woerner of Torrance has been named national president of the Auxiliary to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. The auxiliary is a patriotic, service and educational organization formed in 1885 to perpetuate the memory of the Grand Army of the Republic. Descendants of Union veterans of the Civil War and their spouses are eligible for membership.

Dr. Arthur Schapiro has been named vice president of medical affairs for Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital, Inglewood.

Patricia A. Dreizler was honored recently by the South Bay Cancer Foundation in Redondo Beach as its 1987 Citizen of the Year. Dreizler is director of the Redondo Beach City Community Resources Department. The mother of six, Dreizler also serves on more than 25 community service and educational boards and committees.

USC alumnus Jim Jones, music instructor at South High School in Torrance, has been added to the 30-member faculty of the South Bay Conservatory. Jones was director of the Glendale Youth Band before moving to the South Bay and has taught percussion for the Mexico State Marching Band.

Actor-dancer Leland P. Smith has received an artist-in-residence grant from the City of Inglewood. The grant was awarded and funded by the California Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the city. Smith will direct the Inglewood Performing Arts Ensemble, made up of children ages 7 to 17.

Four South Bay women were honored recently by the Business and Professional Women’s Organizations of Compton, El Segundo, Greater South Bay Area and San Pedro. Recipients of Woman of Achievement Awards are Tiny W. Knox, community activist, of Compton; Eileen Joyce Bell, El Segundo optometrist and Manhattan Beach resident; Violet Engblom, office services supervisor for the state of California and a Lawndale resident; and Torrance resident Patricia Ann Womersley X-ray technician and owner of Harbor Dental X-Ray in San Pedro.

Retired aerospace engineer Ursel (Russ) Nolte of Torrance has been appointed by Supervisor Deane Dana to the Los Angeles County Veterans Advisory Commission. Nolte, a senior citizens advocate, served 23 years in the Air Force as a pilot and in research and development. He is an active member of numerous senior citizen and other organizations.

Ernie Temmer of Redondo Beach has received an award from Little Company of Mary Hospital for contributing 5,000 hours of volunteer service. Volunteers assist in hospital offices and patient areas, help with special events and book carts, and work in the thrift shop.