David W. Torrance

David Wishart Torrance (born 22 June 1924) is a retired Church of Scotland minister and part of the well-known Torrance family of theologians and Christian ministers.

Early life Torrance was the youngest of six children to Church of Scotland minister, Rev Thomas Torrance (1871–1959), and Annie Elizabeth Torrance (nee. Sharp) (1883–1980), both missionaries to Chengdu, Sichuan of West China. Like all his siblings, Torrance was born in China (at Cheng-tu, West China), on 22 June 1924.

In 1927, the family left China to travel to Scotland. When the family were settled in Scotland, Thomas Torrance returned to China for seven years until his retirement in 1935. He served in three parishes across Scotland; Livingston (14 Nov 1955-1969), Summerhill Church in Aberdeen (2 May 1969-1977), and Earlston (1977-1991) in the Scottish Borders.

He published a series of memoirs titled 'The Reluctant Minister' in 2015.

Personal life He married Mary Elizabeth (Elizabeth) Barton (b. 8 June 1924) on 31 December 1957. He had three children, Elizabeth Grace (Grace), David and Ruth.

He now lives in North Berwick. And, according to the Church of Scotland's records of 2023-2024, only eight other surviving Church of Scotland ministers have been ordained longer than him. He turned 100 on 22 June 2024.