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. He is the youngest of six children to Rev Thomas Torrance (1871–1959) and Annie Elizabeth Torrance (1883–1980), both missionaries to Chengdu, Sichuan of West China.

Like his two brothers, Thomas F. Torrance and James B. Torrance, David became a church minister in the Church of Scotland. He was ordained on 14 November 1955. He served in three parishes across Scotland; Livingston, Summerhill Church in Aberdeen, and Earlston in the Scottish Borders.

Unlike his two brothers, he did not go onto academic work. David continued in church ministry until his retirement from Earlston Parish Church in 1991.

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

Personal Life
His wife was a medical practitioner who died in 2008. His son, also named David Torrance, followed his father into Church of Scotland ministry. He died in October 2023.

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.