Retired U.S. Congressman Esteban Torres dies at age 91

Esteban Torres, longtime congressman of the 34th District and 1949 Garfield High School graduate, passed away of natural causes on Tuesday January 25, 2022, just two days shy of his 92nd birthday.

Torres served in the U.S. Army from 1949 to 1953. Proud of his working class, immigrant roots, he worked his way up from an assembly line worker at an auto plant to United States Congressman. Along the way, he became a union leader for the United Auto Workers, founded The East Los Angeles Community Union (TELACU), served as a U.S. Ambassador, and then was elected to U.S. Congress from 1983 to 1997.

In 2006, The Los Angeles Unified School District announced that a new High School would be built and named after the East Los Angeles native. On September 13, 2010, The Esteban E. Torres High School opened its doors, ready to serve the East Los Angeles Community.

Torres was inducted into the Garfield High School Hall of Fame on August 20, 2017, by the Garfield Alumni Foundation. He is survived by his wife Arcy, 6 children, 11 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren.