Rodney Richard Sorenson, age 82, of Manistee, Michigan, died at home surrounded by his loving family on Sunday, July 14 ^th , 2019.

On April 23 ^rd , 1937, Rod was born in Manistee, the first child of Richard and Beatrice (Wittlieff) Sorenson. On October 26 ^th , 1957, he married Betty Dalke at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Manistee. They have celebrated almost 62 years of marriage. They were blessed with 4 children and 6 grandchildren.

At the age of 9, he lost his father in a work accident, leaving his mother with 3 young boys. At 16, Rod left school in order to work on the car ferries to help support his Mom. He later finished high school and earned a Welding Certificate from Northern Michigan University and began his career as a Union Ironworker. He worked on many projects including the construction of the Grand Traverse Resort and the Tondu Plant. He also, together with his brother Bob, traveled the country for work when construction projects in Michigan were slow. This brought the opportunity to work on the building of the EPCOT Center in Orlando, Florida. He worked long hours but found time for family vacations and summer fun at the cottage in Fountain. He had a golden heart and was always proud to support his family, even in the toughest of times. Rod had a great love for playing cards and enjoyed his time in Las Vegas and Florida playing poker in the casinos where he and Betty spent many winter months. In his retirement years, Rod developed a love for his yard, making the green grass grow perfectly, planting fruit trees and grapevines. He enjoyed the "fruit of his labor". Rod was proud of the genius level IQ test results he attained and liked to remind people to always state "just the facts" and to use the English language correctly, thus earning him the nickname "The 'Professor".

Rod was a member of the Divine Mercy Parish (St. Joseph Church) and the Ironworkers Union, Local 340. He was a former member of the Manistee Golf & Country Club, the Manistee Elks Lodge, the Moose Lodge in Manistee and the Gentlemen's Club of Manistee.

Rodney is survived by his wife Betty, his children Chris (Deb) Sorenson, Karen (Marc) Bowerman, Lori Sorenson and Daryl (Rachel) Sorenson; his grandchildren Courtney Sorenson, Maegan Sorenson, Braydon Sorenson, Bella Sorenson and Bristol Sorenson; his brothers Bob Sorenson and Phil (Shelda) Sorenson, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his grandson Blake Sorenson.

Rodney's funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM on Friday, July 19, 2019 at Divine Mercy Parish St. Joseph Catholic Church of Manistee with Rev. Zeljko Guberovic. Burial will follow at Mt. Carmel Cemetery also in Manistee.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 PM Thursday evening at the Herbert Funeral Home of Manistee. The family will also be present at the church one hour prior his funeral Mass.

The Herbert Funeral Home in Manistee is serving the Sorenson Family.