Randy Sorenson - father, grandpa, friend

It is with mixed emotion that I inform you of the passing of Randy Sorenson this past Sunday, April 6th. He was a young 62 years old but had fought valiantly against leukemia for the past year. Randy married Camille's mom Bonnie in July 2000 and was a fabulous addition to our family. Although we only were able to know him for a few short years, his witty and humorous personality along with his genuine concern and compassion endeared him to our family.

I say mixed emotion because I feel both sadness and a sense of peace and joy. I'm certain that Randy is happy to be rid of his ailing body. I know he had a happy reunion with his first wife whom he was married to for 29 years. I know that he's busy helping others, telling jokes, drawing light-hearted comics, or in some way tending to the needs of others. He always had time for my children and I can't remember a time when he was impatient with them. He showed a sincere interest in their lives and was always ready with a funny joke or story. He was an amazingly gifted artist and we all loved to see his creations. He went out of his way to make sure our family was comfortable when we would visit them in Utah. He loved to cook for us and fortunate for us, he was an excellent cook. Randy was the type of person you always look forward to seeing.

I am sad that he won't be around to lighten my load. I'm disappointed that my children will not be able to make more memories with him. I will miss observing and learning from his many Christ-like characteristics such as patience, service and humility. However, we have such good and fond memories of the time we did spend together and for that I am grateful. Randy was a blessing in the lives of our family and he had and will continue to have a profound and lasting effect upon our family. We are better for having known him and we will miss him. We love you Randy.

The drawing below was one that Randy did at my request for an Aaronic Priesthood camp. "Courage Under Fire" was the theme for the camp and the design was used for the camp t-shirts. Randy put a lot of thought into this design including not having Samuel with any weapons reasoning that Samuel would not be on the offensive but was a humble servant of God crying repentance to the people because of his love for them and obedience to God. He did this in spite of the danger and the fears he must have had. This is Courage.