Royal Sorensen

Royal H. Sorensen returned home to his Heavenly Father Thursday April 26, 2012 at the age of 99 1/2. He was born November 1, 1912 in Mt. Pleasant, Utah to George C. Sorensen and Mina Hasler. Raised in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, he worked on the family dry farm, and enjoying an adventurous and mischievous childhood. He developed a love for aviation early in life, which led him to construct an airplane of boards and a box to launch from the coal shed. Royal was involved in 4H and soon discovered that 4H Club activities would excuse him from school to attend the fair. Royal took advantage of that and entered a sheep-judging act, winning first prize.

Royal attended Snow College and later graduated from Utah State University, with a degree in microbiology. Royal and his friends crashed the freshman ‘get acquainted” dance where Royal met Alice Rollins of Mountain Green, Utah.

They were married on December 23, 1938 in the Manti, Utah LDS Temple. The happy couple began their life together renting a house in Logan. Royal worked at a grocery store and they took in boarders to help pay the rent.

When Pearl Harbor was bombed Royal registered for the draft and was soon leaving his wife and two young children behind for Guam, the Philippines and Japan, serving as a microbiologist. During this time he participated in the first clinical trials for the new drug, penicillin.

After the military he spent his career as a research microbiologist at the VA Hospital in Fresno, California.

The focus of his research was Valley Fever, and he published more than a dozen journal articles on the subject. a��

In 1978, he and Alice retired to Fruit Heights, UT where he enjoyed gardening, "projects" and of course hiking. In 1985, he and Alice served an LDS mission to Tallahassee, Florida. Afterwards, they moved to St. George, UT where Royal was an avid hiker, exploring possibly every trail in southern Utah, especially those involving petroglyphs. He took classes in geology, archaeology, and jewelry making. He loved to jog and later power-walked well into his nineties, setting a good example for his family on fitness. He loved to learn, continuing to read his scientific journals and attempting to learn to use the Internet. A more patriotic man never lived. He loved his country and was looking forward to receiving a letter from the president of the United States (preferably Republican) upon turning 100. He loved his grandchildren and he never missed an opportunity to turn a situation into a teaching moment.

Scouting was a big part of his life. Although he never received his Eagle Scout (Mt. Pleasant didn’t have deep enough waters for a swimming and lifesaving merit badge), he did receive Scouting's highest honor of Silver Beaver. Many young men can call themselves eagle scouts, including all of his grandsons involved in scouting, because of his dedication. He continued to be a scout leader until his late 80's.

He loved his family and wanted nothing more from life than to see them happy.

His remarkable near century-long life spanned WWI, the great depression, WWII, the space age, personal computers and smart phones.

He is survived by his wife, Alice and children Jerold (Rebecca) Sorensen of Fresno, Ca; Maryann (Jim) Webster of SLC, UT; Steven (Claudia) Sorensen of Los Cabos, Mexico; Kristine (Marc) Stefano of Fruit Heights, UT; Deborah (Peter) Guerney of Seattle, WA; and Beverly (Alan) Knox of St. George, UT; 20 grand children, 37 great-grand children with 3 on the way; and 1 great-great-grand child with one on the way. His daughter, Kathleen Kezerian, preceded him in death. Graveside services will be held Friday, May 4th at 10:00 a.m. in Mountain Green, UT.