Dennis Ralph Sorenson, 83

Dennis Ralph Sorenson, 83, of Aurora, Colo., passed away on June 3, 2024.
Dennis was born Nov. 18, 1940, in a rented farmhouse in Granville Township, south of Lancaster, Minn., the second child of Marvin and Ethel (Lindstrom) Sorenson.
Shortly after his birth, his parents purchased farmland in Percy Township northeast of Lake Bronson, Minn. They planned to move into a large house on that property the following spring but their plans changed when they learned that the property contained no buildings because it was a half-mile north of the property with the large house. They lived the spring and summer of 1941 in their grandfather Lindstrom’s granary while great-grandfather Nordling built a two-story log house with white siding and a small log barn for them. Their new house featured a natural log interior, dipper pail water, and an outhouse/slop pail plumbing.
In 1945, his father bought the old Lancaster Creamery building and disassembled it to build a machine shed/granary on their farm. He bought his sons, Darrel and Dennis, small hammers and wrecking bars to help with the disassembly.
Unfortunately, Dennis’s best friend and older brother, Darrel, did not live to see the reassembly of the building because in 1946 he died of leukemia at the age of 6 years old. Also, in 1946 they added a kitchen, bathroom (but without plumbing) and a porch to their house. The year 1947 was another sad one for his family when his sister, Marie, was born and died of a brain tumor at the age of 7 months.
In 1949, REA came through and they got electricity, running water and plumbing. Dennis learned to drive a tractor in third grade and helped his dad break several acres of woodland.
He graduated from Lake Bronson High School in 1958 and immediately enlisted in the U.S. Army serving in active duty in Colorado, Indiana, West Germany, D.C. (Army Commendation Medal) and Vietnam (Bronze Star Medal). While serving in the Army Chief of Staff’s Office at the Pentagon, he participated in the planning for and execution of the funeral for President John F. Kennedy. During his time at the Pentagon, he met his wife, Ruth Carter.
They were married on Oct. 3, 1964, in Costa Mesa, Calif., while Dennis was earning a degree in data processing. After 12 years of service, he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in June 1970.
Following his military career, Dennis worked for Cybermatics, Bob Jones University and the U.S. government. He served in the offices of the FCC, Department of Defense, Department of Labor and retired from the Department of Transportation as a U.S. civil servant in December 1994.
During his retirement, he developed extensive family histories for his immediate families and as a result of that activity, he saw the need for and developed several indexes to aid genealogical research for his hometown Kittson County Historical Society and Museum.
Dennis was a faithful husband and father, who enjoyed humoring total strangers to get them to smile, and who endeavored to faithfully serve his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He was a born again Christian. His faith in Jesus Christ his Lord and Savior assured him of his eternal home in heaven. His adult lifetime Bible verses were Proverbs 3: 5-6 KJV.
Dennis is survived by: his wife, Ruth; step-son, Mark (Chessie) Little; son, Todd (Sheila) Sorenson; step-granddaughters, Megan Little and Alyssa (David) Johnson; step-great-granddaughter, Aubrey Johnson; and step-great-grandson, Dawson Johnson; sister, Annette (Gene) Stout; brother, James Sorenson; and sister, Jane Cornell; as well as an aunt; and nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by: his parents; brother, Darrel; sister, Marie; a niece; and aunts and uncles.
At his request there was no memorial service and he is buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver, Colo.
Memorials may be made to the Kittson County Historical Society and Museum, Genealogy Research Fund, 332 E. Main St., Lake Bronson, MN 56734 or Odosagih Bible Conference, PO 107, Machias, NY 14101-0107.