A scholarship in the police officer's memory will be presented next year to a student who exemplifies his kindness to others.
WESTFIELD - When she met her future husband through a mutual friend, Kara Torres had no idea she was taking the first step toward marrying a baseball franchise.
"I was not a big baseball person,'' says the widow of police officer Jose Torres, who died on July 26 while on traffic duty.
"I became interested when it was on TV,'' Kara Torres recalled this week. "He was always watching his games.''
Jose Torres, 53, was struck and killed by a dump truck while working traffic duty at a construction project on Pontoosic Road. His death on the job jarred the emotions of a community that knew him as the man who always made their days seem better.
To say officer Torres was a Boston Red Sox fan would be an understatement. The man and his team were joined at the heart, and it was only natural his wife and family were swept along.
Jose Torres was known for many things in this city. He was decorated at least twice for heroism in his career and made an indelible stamp on the city as a trustworthy police officer, an ambassador for the community and a valued friend to many.
If a stamp were to be attached to Jose Torres' life, however, there would have to be a place for the Red Sox logo on it.
At his funeral, the logo was displayed on the casket and on the pillow. It is still in evidence throughout the the Torres home, where Kara and their two sons, Jay and Christopher, sustain his memory.
A Fenway sojourn was tantamount to a family pilgrimage. Jose Torres' last game was in July, less than two weeks before he died.
On Sept. 13, Kara and the boys returned to Fenway Park. This was their first ball game without dad.
"It's a double-edged sword,'' said Jay Torres, 19. "You remember the happy moments and all the times together. We have so many memories of that place from the time we were little.''
Avoiding the scene of those memories would be natural in the aftermath of Torres' death. That was not an option to this family; they are convinced he would have wanted them to be at Fenway, no matter how the season turns out.
"It was hard, very emotional and tougher than I expected," Kara Torres said. "The tickets were given to us by an anonymous donor."
This has not been an easy season for fans of the Red Sox, who are winding down one of their worst seasons since the Great Depression. The more passionate the fan, the more acute the pain of seeing a proud and successful team falter.
"Yes, Jose was kind of bummed,'' Kara Torres said. She smiles at the memory of how her husband savored his Sox, even through the worst of times.
Being bummed, though, did not begin to jar his loyalty or faith. Underneath his police uniform, Jose would often wear a Red Sox shirt, right next to his heart, according to his widow.
"He was a man-boy. David Ortiz was his favorite player - Senor Papi,'' Kara Torres said.
Two months after Jose's death, Kara relates these recollections easily. She laughs.
She hides the pain well. Her path to cherish the years well spent is the path needed through grief, though not an easy one, she says.
"Today is day number 60 (without him),'' she said on Sept. 24. "I don't know if it will ever come to the point where I don't know that number.''
The outpouring of support and friendship from the Westfield community has helped. Police units are famously tight-knit, but Torres' reach had the tentacles of an octopus, extending through many aspects of Westfield life.
At home, Jose Torres' passion is best reflected in what the family calls "the Red Sox room.'' It is filled with souvenirs, pictures and artifacts of his favorite team.
Torres' devotion to baseball and the Red Sox stemmed from his father, who was born in Puerto Rico. The family's visitors once included Red Sox pitching great Luis Tiant, who often came to Westfield as a friend of the late City Councilor Charles Medeiros. The lure to the Torres home for Tiant was Spanish rice as prepared by Jose's mother, Maria.
"Meeting Luis was the only time Jose smoked cigars,'' Kara Torres recalled.
It is a testament to Torres' popularity in Westfield, which is one of the most baseball-crazed cities in New England, that some of his best friends are New York Yankees fans.
The bantering was ceaseless, but grounded in warmth. For most of his life, Torres endured the slights associated with always being runner-up.
Then, in 2004, the Red Sox ousted the Yankees from the playoffs and went on to win their first World Series in 86 years. Torres' first reaction was not of himself.
"Jose's father died in 2010, but he was around for the 2004 title,'' Kara Torres remembered. "Jose called him, I remember. They were so thankful his father had seen that in his lifetime.''
Jose Torres made sure he enjoyed his share of that championship season, too.
"We had a picture taken of us with the 2004 World Series banner (in the background). Jose would not let me crop the banner out of the picture,'' Kara Torres said.
The family celebrated again in 2007, when the Red Sox won another World Series. Baseball was Torres' biggest passion, but not his only interest.
"He was a big Celtics fan. He liked the Kansas City Chiefs, too, because Joe Montana was his favorite player and he played for the Chiefs at the end.'' Kara Torres said.
Jay Torres is attending Westfield State University. He plans to follow in his father's footsteps and become a police officer.
He is not a baseball player.
"That's Christopher. He's the one who goes out there,'' Jay Torres said of his younger brother.
A student of North Middle School, Christopher is more than just a good player. He was named the sportsmanship winner this year in the Westfield Little League.
Christopher also got to meet Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine on the field before the Sept. 13 game at Fenway.
The moment was captured in one of the countless baseball pictures in the household, a treasure trove of moments that keep Jose Torres' memory alive.
The community is responding as well. On Nov. 2, a family picnic will be held at the Westfield Elks Lodge. Proceeds will go to a cause that epitomized Jose Torres, a scholarship award whose recipient will be saluted for kindness.
The lifelong devotion of Jose Torres to his team is especially poignant as the Red Sox struggle to retain their fan base and regain their winning ways as this season's final games with the Yankees loom this week.
As TV ratings for Sox games plummet, tickets become available and the talk-show commentary is negative, fans like Jose Torres still exist. Their loyalty to the Red Sox is not determined by the standings or the scoreboard, but by the connection to the heart.
And, even now, two months after losing her husband, Kara Torres says baseball and the Red Sox are helping her through a very difficult time.
It gives the community common ground when they talk about a departed husband, father, public servant, civic ambassador and friend.
"It's made it easier," she says. "It's put something light into it."
Jay Torres poses a good question: "Will we go back to Fenway next year?" The answer: "Definitely."
"It was a part of him,'' Kara Torres said. "Absolutely, we'll be back.''