Dale Sorenson

Dale Sorenson, 96, of Alta passed away Thursday, April 30, 2026, at Methodist Manor Retirement Community in Storm Lake.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 9, at 1 p.m. at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Rembrandt. Coffee will follow the service and we will depart at 3 p.m. for burial in Immanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery in Alta. Visitation will take place Saturday, May 9, from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the church. Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements.

Ervin Dale Sorenson, who aside from his Army days, always went by Dale, was born on Aug. 31, 1929, to Thelma Inez (Wing) and Sigurd Berger Sorenson. He was baptized in, and later joined the Congregational Church in Sioux Rapids. He lived with his parents and brother Allen on the Toby Thompson farm and went to school in Rembrandt for six years. He then went to Highview School, where he graduated in 1947. He learned about and was a solid believer in hard work. He once unloaded 40 ton of coal with a shovel, for which he was paid one dollar per ton. Thrilled to have spending money, he agreed to do another load when asked again. He wanted to be a veterinarian, but it wasn’t what his parents had in mind for him. He learned to fly a single-engine plane, which he would buzz over the farm of the parents of his high school sweetheart, Janice Anita Hansen. He would fly so low that she could see the color of his shirt. He moved to Omaha in the fall of 1949, to be near Janice, who was in secretarial school there, and worked in Bishop’s Cafeteria — first as a busboy and later as a coffee boy.

Dale and Janice were married at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Scott Township on Sept. 24, 1950, and moved to Gran Apartments, a new place for recently-married couples in Sioux Rapids. He worked at Hank Herrig’s Machinery, assembling and repairing machinery, and considered becoming a Fuller Brush salesman. But on April 2, 1951, he was drafted into the Army — the first married man in the county who was drafted into what became the Korean War. He completed basic training at Fort Eustes in Virginia, where he was a squad leader and had to organize weekly cleaning of the barracks. He later told how he let the guys pick their own jobs — he and only one black soldier in the group often ended up cleaning the latrines. Janice joined him after basic training and they moved to Williamsburg, Va. In 1952, he was flown to Washington state where he waited in line for four hours for Thanksgiving dinner. The soldiers slept in tar paper shacks on land, and then in bunks five high when nearly 5,000 were shipped to Korea. Dale recalled that the seas were so rough that he ate the same grape 17 times. He blamed severe seasickness for his latrine-cleaning buddy jumping overboard on the voyage. Dale was pained to say, “that the boat just kept going.” In Korea, he was one soldier shy of receiving a chalk “x” on his helmet, which meant being sent to the front. He served as a supply officer and every day wrote an aerogram to Janice with a hand-drawn cartoon on the back. He returned to the states in April 1953, getting his separation papers in Camp Carson, Colo., just in time to get back for Janice’s Grandpa Claus Johnson’s funeral.

Janice’s parents moved from the family farm to Storm Lake, which led Dale and Janice to move to the Scott Township farm. Over the years they raised corn, soybeans, alfalfa, dairy cattle, feeder cattle, Black Angus cattle, laying hens, pigs, sheep and thousands of turkeys. They also raised three daughters and a son. Dale was involved in Lodge before getting married, joined Eastern Star after returning from military service, and much later in 2001, served as Grand Chaplain of the State of Iowa. Dale enjoyed singing at many events, whistling as he walked, card playing, building almost anything, cartooning, writing songs and gardening. He had a keen artful eye to “create.” He would share a customized hand-drawn cartoon with anyone who would take one. Dale partially retired following a motorcycle accident as he came in from fieldwork. Even though the word “retired” didn’t apply to him, his philosophy was always “It’s better to wear out than to rust out.”  Dale taught his family — “there’s no such word as can’t!”

He and Janice wintered in Mesa, Ariz., for 24 fun-filled years, often traveling in record time. Janice negotiated getting a new pair of shoes for each speeding ticket he got. They moved to Alta in 2018, where he built two outbuildings near their large garden, sharing produce and melons with neighbors, friends and strangers. He also tended to his wife. In 2023, they moved to Wel-Life in Alta, where he spent his time relaxing and watching the latest news on TV.

Dale was proud of his military service, his work ethic and his family. He and his determination will be missed.

Dale Sorenson passed away April 30, 2026. He was predeceased in 2025 by Janice, his wife of 74 years; many friends and family members, including his only brother, Allen.

He is survived by their four children: Susan Sorenson (Richard Berk), Sally (Jim) Anderson, Sheila (Dan) Bennett and Steve Sorenson (Renae). He had seven grandchildren: Michael Bark, Ryan (Jill) Buckendahl, Brittney (Logan) Peters, Brooke (Ryan) Weber, Taylor (Rachel) Bennett, Ava Sorenson and Anna Sorenson. Great-grandchildren are Stella, Dean, Evie, Emilia and Dawsyn.