Jeff Sorensen

Jeffrey Wade Sorensen of Lake Winnebago, Mo., lost his battle with brain cancer on Sept. 16, 2002.

Jeff was born to Soren P. and Geraldine (Wade) Sorensen on Aug. 25, 1955, in Springfield, Mo. He grew up in Cameron, Mo., where he was always involved in sports, school or scouting activities. Jeff was an Eagle Scout in the Tribe of Mic-O-Say of Pony Express Council, St. Joseph, Mo. He was also proud that he attained the God and Country Award of Boy Scouting.

He married Sara Bennett on Dec. 28, 1973. Jeff most recently was the owner of Crown Lumber, a retail builders’ yard in Lee’s Summit, Mo., and Martin City, Kan. He started his career in the lumber business as a teenager at J.B. Russell Lumber in Cameron. He later worked for Cameron Lumber, then moved to the Kansas City area and worked for International Paper Company.

He and Sara lived in Olathe, Kan., for 18 years, as their daughters grew up. They later moved to Lake Winnebago after Jeff joined Crown Lumber. Jeff was a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Lee’s Summit. He was also a sailor with the Winnebago Sailing Club until his illness. Jeff was survived by his wife, Sara; daughter Madelyn of Lee’s Summit; daughter and son-in-law Hannah and Reginald Van Derson of St. Louis, Mo.; grandsons Ari and Cameron; his mother and father, Pete and Gerry Sorensen of Cameron; mother-in-law, Elizabeth Eulinger of Independence, Mo.; brothers Soren P. (Chip) Sorensen III of Burnsville, Minn., Lincoln Sorensen of Chesterfield, Mo., and Michael Sorensen of St. Louis; and sisters Greta Schumacher of Southlake, Texas, and Barbara Ness of O’Fallon, Mo.

He also leaves brothers-in-law Sam Bennett of Maysville, Mo., Erle Bennett of Centralia, Mo., and Mitchell Bennett of Higginsville, Mo; sisters-in-law Mara Lee Matejovsky of St. David, Ariz., Sonja Bennett of Kansas City, Mo., and Marva Wicklund of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; and many in-laws, nieces, nephews, friends and co-workers.