Lillian Thordis Thorsen

Lillian Thordis Thorsen of Iselin, passed away on August 27, 2024. We joyfully celebrate the blessings of her 101 years of life. Lillian was born on October 10, 1922 in Scotch Plains, NJ, the fourth of five children, to Ole and Thora Larsen. After graduating Scotch Plains High School, she worked in an office building in New York City. She later completed studies at Rutgers University for Engineering Drawing and worked in a defense plant to support the war effort. On October 1, 1944, she was married to Reinhart Thorsen and lived in the Avenel section of Woodbridge Township until buying their house in Iselin in 1952. There they raised their four children Ellen, Reinhart, Nancy and Shirley. As a mother she was a stay-at-home mom, dedicated to caring for her family. She could also be seen pitching the game winning horseshoe, hitting a home run at the softball game and playing pool at her sister’s house. As a proud Norwegian, she would host many family dinners with elegant table settings, delicious foods, and homemade desserts. Christmas was a special time for baking cookies and enjoying the annual treat of Norwegian rice pudding. After Reinhart retired, Lillian and he travelled the USA and Canada by planes, trains and automobiles (and camper) to visit family and sights along the way. It was a priority for them to attend many family gatherings, weddings, the births of their grandchildren and graduations. They travelled twice to Tanzania, Africa to visit their daughter Nancy and family. Other travels included several trips to Norway to visit extended family and train trips through Europe. She was a member, for over 75 years, of the First Presbyterian Church of Avenel and a long-time member of the Woodbridge Community Center Silver Sneakers, attending as many as nine classes a week. Around the age of seventy, she began quilting. She made over seventy handmade quilts in her lifetime They are cherished by those who received them.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband of 63 years, Reinhart, her daughter Nancy Leclair, her sisters Sofie Olsen, Elizabeth Howarth, Ruth Freist, and her brother Olaf Larsen. She is survived by her children Ellen McCord (Joseph) of Lubbock, Texas, Reinhart Thorsen (Penny) of Stone Mountain, Georgia, Shirley Benkert (Edward) of Colonia, New Jersey and her son-in-law David Leclair of Arizona. She was a devoted grandmother to twelve, great grandmother to twenty-five and great-great grandmother to one She was happily anticipating the birth of her second great-great grandchild in November. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

Lillian’s visitation will be from 4:00-8:00PM Friday September 6th at Gray Funeral Home, 318 E. Broad St., Westfield, NJ, where her funeral service will begin at 9:30am Saturday. Interment will follow in Fairview Cemetery, Westfield. Please go to: www.grayfuneralhomes.com to offer condolences.