LaVern Torgeson dies at 86

LaVern Torgeson as a member of the Detroit Lions after his WSU career.

LaVern Torgeson, the LaCrosse High School graduate who played football for the Cougars at Washington State College and had a 42-year career in the National Football League as a player and a coach, died March 23 in Huntington Beach, Calif. He had made his retirement home in Huntington Beach for the last 20 years.

His death was reported by his wife, Nola Carmichael Torgeson, a 1955 graduate of Washington State College from Wenatchee.

Born Feb. 28, 1929, to Otto and Irma Torgeson, he was raised in LaCrosse and graduated from L...