Julio Enrique Torres, beloved husband of the late Juanita Torres, a longtime resident of The Bronx, passed away on Friday, August 28, 2026, at The Emerald Peek Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Peekskill, New York. Julio faced many health challenges during the last several years of his life, but he remained a fighter until the end. His family is grateful for his courage, strength and for the time God blessed them to share with him.
Born on February 6, 1938 in Peňuelas, Puerto Rico, he was the son of Jorge Torres and Leocadia Arroyo. He lived in a modest home in Peňuelas for many years before moving to The Bronx, New York where he would meet and marry Juanita Candelas of Caguas, Puerto Rico. They were married for 64 years and had five children. Their first two children, twins, Maria Milagros Torres and Maria Dolores Torres died shortly after birth, yet they found strength in each other, survived this tragedy and grew a family of three more children, George Henry Torres, James Phillip Torres and Michelle Marie Torres.
Armed with only a sixth grade education, Julio was a very hard worker and wanted the best for his family. In the early 1960s he worked in a doll factory and then moved on to work in the meat industry in 1972 until he retired in 1999 from Stahl-Meyer Foods, Inc. Over the lifetime of his career, he worked many hours of overtime to purchase a house for his family and put his children through private school. He was proud to have overcome the challenges faced by his limited education and took great pride in being a dependable and ample provider.
Julio loved all animals and even rescued a Doberman Pinscher that was severely neglected and abused. Aside from the pleasure he derived from his furry, four-legged friends, he also enjoyed gardening and entertaining. Julio was also a doting grandfather and loved taking his grandchildren, Arianna Elaine Memoli and Vincent Alexander Memoli to the Bronx Zoo (of course, animals) and every summer reserved time to take them to an amusement park and even once drove to Hersheypark in Pennsylvania but got so lost that he never tried that again. It gave him great joy to give his grandchildren such happiness and shower them with love.
