compiled by her daughter, Cindy Sorensen Anderson
On the evening of April 6, 1955 mom was born around 7pm. Her grandmother, Laura Cahoon, had sprained her ankle a few days prior, but as soon as she heard the news of her firstborn granddaughter, she hobbled up the hill to the Cardston, Alberta Hospital as fast as her ailing ankle would allow. Mom was the 2nd of 4 children born to George and Hazel Cahoon. Her father co-owned the Cahoon Lumber Company in Cardston and her mother was a registered nurse by trade, which came in handy when she needed to devote a lot of her care to their son, Jerry, who had cystic fibrosis.
Mom had an idyllic childhood. Her younger years were spent palling around with neighborhood friends – having Kool-aide stands, playing night games, and even hosting a carnival with real, live pony rides! She attended all of her school years in Cardston.
The house mom grew up in during her childhood years.
Back in the early ‘60s, grade school started at 9am, everyone when home for an hour lunch break (including the teacher) and they up at 4pm. One day, as a first grader, mom was served a delicious piece of chocolate cake at the end of her home lunch. She thought the chocolate icing on top was heaven-sent and wanted to save it for her teacher, Mrs. Green. So she scraped it off, ate the cake part, then put the icing in her hand and carried it to school. On her way there, she met her teacher, who was also walking back to school. Mom walked with her teacher for a ways then slowly opened her hand and asked, “Teacher, would you like my icing?” Mrs. Green politely declined, letting mom know she was quite full from her own lunch. Mom merrily continued on her way, licking her icing-filled fingers as she went.
On Halloween day when mom was in the 5th grade, she dressed up as Granny Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies Show. She got ahold of an old earthenware jug and filled it with vinegar, then took it to school with her that day. Dressed as Granny Clampett, she was quite the hit, offering her fellow classmates swigs of her “moonshine!” Later that evening, mom opted to go trick or treating around the neighborhood by herself. This way, she could move quicker, hitting more houses and in turn, get more candy. Her pillowcase was at least ¼ of the way full when a group of Native boys from the reservation confronted her, wanting to take her candy. Well, as you can imagine, “Little Granny Clampett” wouldn’t hear of such a thing. She swung her pillowcase over her head, and acting like a whirling dervish, spun herself right out of that predicament. Not one piece of her candy was
confiscated.
Mom did well throughout school and was praised for her intellect by all her teachers. She always gave her best effort in whatever she did and wasn’t afraid to work hard at things. When she was in Beehives – ages 12-13, each girl was expected to earn 10 honor badges throughout those 2 years. Ever the over-achiever, mom earned 61!
As a Senior at Cardston High School, she was part of the basketball cheerleading squad. She and a couple of her cheerleading friends came to practice one day all bandaged up. They told the other cheerleaders they had been in a terrible accident and proceeded to practice in “pain.” It didn’t take long for the other cheerleaders to figure out their guise.
Mom on the far right.
Mom attended Brigham Young University her first year of college. However, she didn’t really like it and decided to work in Cardston the next year. She enjoyed working at a printing shop which consisted of setting type and making signs on an old -fashioned printing press. Her worst mishap here was when she embossed 300 wedding napkins with the name of the bride and groom. But instead of having it say “Bob and Sylvia”, she mixed up two letters during the typesetting process and ended up with 300 unusable napkins that read “Bob and Slyvia.”
L to R: Mom, Lloyd, George, Hazel, Jerry, Dixie
After this year of working in Cardston, she continued her studies at Utah State University in Logan, Utah and graduated in 1977 with a degree in Sociology and Secondary Education. She was selected as Outstanding Graduate in Secondary Education the year she graduated.
While at Utah State, Mom met Dad on the sidewalk heading toward an Institute of Religion class. She was walking quite briskly and would have passed him by, but decided to slow down and introduce herself as being in the same Book of Mormon class. They hit it off and Dad asked her to go to the homecoming dance with him that weekend. Their first date was a group date where the boys came out with fancy serving platters with lids. They flamboyantly took off the lids, revealing that night’s cuisine of bloated, boiled hotdogs. All the girls thought it was quite hilarious, especially mom.
Mom and Dad dated for a year or so and were married in the Manti Temple on December 17, 1977. After they both graduated the following June, they moved here to Gunnison, where Dad had grown up. They lived in a trailer home, on the east side of town, for about a year while their home on the dairy farm was being built. All four of us children were born here in Gunnison. Dad worked very hard as a dairy farmer while Mom worked hard taking care of the house and kids.
In 1987, Mom became Gunnison Valley Elementary’s “Computer Lab Lady.” Not long after, Clare Otten encouraged her to get her elementary teaching license by saying, “You’re here all day anyway, you might as well be getting paid better for it.” So, in the summer of 1989, Mom traveled to Southern Utah State College in Cedar City to earn her elementary teaching certificate in 6 weeks’ time. She student taught with Mrs. Suzie Waltzer and took over that 5th grade position the following year. There she stayed for close to 30 years. She always joked that she kept getting demoted and wasn’t able to graduate from the 5thgrade. She enjoyed these years, putting in a lot of time and effort to be prepared and provide enriching learning experiences. All four of her children, one grandchild, many nieces and nephews, and hundreds of other 5th grade students from this valley were lucky enough to call her “teacher.”
Mom had many talents that she shared with those around her.
Music was always an important part of mom’s life. She had a beautiful singing voice and was often asked to sing at different community functions. Her favorite calling – one that she did for nearly 15 years - was primary chorister. It was perfect for her because it combined her three loves: music, children and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I’ll never forget her telling of the time she was in primary leading the music and felt something brushing against the top of her nyloned foot. She looked down and there was Tana Pickett, a Sunbeam back then, tickling the top of her tootsie!
Mom was a stalwart member of the Ward Choir all her life and when she was in her mid-thirties, she was part of a ladies Double Trio with Lana Larson, Diane Dyreng, Marsha Anderson, Sherrie Myrup, Dorothy Knorr, Shelle Oliver and Rula Warren on piano. I remember going to some of their practices and performances and thinking, “these ladies are too old to be having so much fun!” Mom also directed singing groups I performed in as a child. Once I asked her why she gave so much of her time and energy to directing those groups. Her response was “I wanted you to have the opportunity to sing.” One of my favorite things to do with my mom was to sit with her at the piano and sing.
Double Trio: Loreen, Marsha, Dorothy, Sherrie, Lana, Diane
Back In 1963, when the Charlie Cheeseman Ice Center was built, mom started skating. She excelled at figure skating and her mother saw to it that she got private lessons from professionals. When she was 13 and 14, she competed in Southern Alberta’s regional figure skating competitions. The first year, she took first place and the second year, she took second place. She often joked that she saw a trend developing, so she stopped competing after that!! Skating was a big part of her life for about 10 years. She was what some might call a Rink Rat -- spending many an afternoon and evening skating. Her love for skating never faded. A couple of years ago, she traveled to Provo on a regular basis to have skating lessons at the age of 64.
Mom on her pony named Twinkles.
Mom loved horses. As a youth, she’d ride her pony, Twinkles, one mile to the west end of town to her piano teacher’s home and back. At age 11, she joined a 4-H Club – The Rocky Ridge Riders, and when she was 17, she was a contestant for the Cardston Rodeo Queen. When being spotlighted on a local television show for this, the interviewer asked mom what kind of a horse she rode, she blurted out, “A fat one!” Then she was asked why she wanted to be the rodeo queen, and she replied, “Well, I don’t really care if I am or not.” Needless to say, mother was NOT chosen as the rodeo queen!
I’m pretty sure my mom’s love of horses was something that made Dad love her even more. Dad knew he could buy a horse and mom would fall in love it – no matter how much money it cost. There were quite a few summers where mom would saddle up a horse and go for a morning ride. I was with her on one of those summer rides when I was 16 years old. My horse, named Red, kept turning its head letting me know it wanted to turn back. Frustrated with his behavior, I told mom I was having a hard time, and she offered to switch horses with me. I held on to both horses’ reigns as mom swung her leg over Red’s saddle. In mid-swing, the horse reared up then started bucking! The vision of mom’s body flying helpless through the air, in a perfect arch, then hitting the ground and being enveloped with dust will forever be embedded in my mind. She laid motionless, face first in the dust, for what seemed like forever. But she got up, dusted off her pants and lived to tell the tale.
The Non-Rodeo Queen
While at Utah State University, mom took a class to learn the fine art of Calligraphy. She was a natural at it. She would later teach a calligraphy class at Snow College and was often asked to pen announcements, poems, and signs for others. As she’d do these calligraphy projects, my brothers and I can surely recall her yelling out on more than one occasion, “Don’t bump the table!” Once the household computer came to be, mom’s calligraphy services weren’t needed as much, but she never lost her knack for the beautiful penmanship. In fact, it was not but 5 weeks ago that mom insisted on writing the large lettering for Tyler’s 4th of July float.
Mom in the early 80's showing off her prize-winning calligraphy
Probably Mom’s greatest talent was that of being a teacher. Her quick wit and ability to relate to her students made her one of those cherished teachers that are never quite forgotten. She wrote and directed the 5th Grade Play – all about U.S. History - as a way to make history come alive and instill in her students a love for their country and heritage. Being one of her students, I too learned those songs and 30 years later, can still sing the Preamble to the constitution. Whether it was kissing a snake, pretending to be Julia Child, dancing like MC Hammer, singing happy birthday in opera, or tutoring students after school to help them get ahead, Mrs. Sorensen will forever be remembered as a teacher that truly touched her students’ lives.
The Golden Years
After retiring in May 2018, mom was able to do a few things she’d always wanted to do: travel to the British Isles, attend a high school reunion, and serve as an ordinance worker and coordinator in the Manti Temple. She loved the sisters that she served with there and the feeling that attended while in the House of the Lord.
In the summer of 2019, she found out she had uterine cancer. After months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, she felt a little more like herself – only to learn a few months later that her cancer had metastasized to her brain. Dad was her rock and helpmeet to the end – ever encouraging her through each hard surgery, each chemo treatment and each radiation appointment.
Mom knew her time left on earth was coming to a close. She wanted to record herself singing a special song just for Dad which was to be played at this funeral. But mom’s health (and her voice) deteriorated too quickly and the best we could do was have Mom’s 4 daughters sing along with her. Here is the song she wanted my dad to hear. It’s accompanied by Sylvia Duke with Loy Deskins on pan flute.
[play recording]
Through all of life’s ups and downs, Mom’s testimony of the plan of salvation and our Savior’s pivotal role in it never wavered. She understood the gospel of Jesus Christ, loved reading from the Book of Mormon each day, kept the covenants she made, and was a true friend to many - often reaching out to those who were new to the area or those who needed extra strength or healing in their lives. I have no doubt that the Lord greeted her with open arms, saying, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” We know that Mom’s life isn’t over. Her good works will continue on the other side of the veil. We can all look forward to that day when we can see her once again in the eternities and be with our dear wife, mother, grandmother, sister, teacher and friend.
