| . . . . in Memory of . . . . |
| . . . . in Memory of . . . . |
| . . . . in Memory of . . . . |
| . . . . in Memory of . . . . |
| . . . . in Memory of . . . . |
- Peter Sorensen
Peter Sorensen, 86, of Dagmar, Montana passed away at the Bethel Lutheran Home in
Williston, North Dakota the evening of June 7, 2009 after a short battle with cancer.
Cremation has taken place and a Memorial Service will take place at 2:00 P.M. on Monday,
June 15th at the Volmer Church in rural Dagmar. Pastor Betty Mawbey will officiate.
Peter Hansen Sorensen was born October 23, 1922, at the Mortensen farm, east of the
Volmer Church, the fifth child of Soren (Sam) and Karen (Hansen) Sorensen. Peter was
baptized at home, confirmed at Volmer and was a lifelong member of the Volmer Lutheran
Church.
In 1926, the family moved to the Steam Hansen farm one mile north of the church. Peter
attended Hans Christian Andersen Grade School, south of the Volmer Church. At the age of
12, he passed the State Board exams and entered High School at Nathanael Church.
Peter, and his brother Jeppe, bought their first car, a Model T, from Leo Jensen for $ 25.00
and took turns driving to high school with Peder Siggaard, who drove his Dad’s Chevy. Many
races ensued with the “Dagmar boys” including passing each other using the third lane - the
ditch!!
While Peter was attending high school, his parents decided to move to Oregon, along with his Uncle John Sorensen’s family. While
there, they harvested walnuts, and when harvest was done they drove down the coast to Santa Barbara and harvested avocados. The
following spring they returned to Volmer once again. Then came the Dirty 30's. No rain, no crops and dust storms. Peter did anything
during this time to make money including trapping skunks and shooting gophers which had a county bounty on them at the time. One
gopher tail was worth a penny!!! In the late 30's he went with his Uncle John’s hired man to Sidney to top beets. While there, they slept
on straw in railroad cars.
In 1940, Peter, and his brother Jeppe, rented land west of Reserve. The fall of 1941 he bought a 1940 Chevy for $ 750.00 and headed
west to California to stay with his sister Anna. While there, he worked on a dairy farm running a Caterpillar and on weekends helped with
the milking. That December the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
Peter returned in the spring in time for seeding. That fall he and his brother rented land in North Dakota by the state line. In 1943, Peter
bought his first land and started his lifelong love of farming.
Peter’s sister Sylvia introduced him to the lady who would become his wife, and the mother of their children, Orla Rude. They were
married June 6, 1946, after Orla completed a year of teaching at a country school near Stady, North Dakota. They lived in Volmer on the
Harold and Lillie Rasmussen farm, moved to Grenora for a few years, and in ‘52 rented the Christine Lindberg farm and moved back to
Volmer. Later Pete and Orla would purchase this farm and it would become their home for many years. In 1988, Pete and Orla won the
Sheridan County Conservation Award for outstanding farming. In 1997, their son Dana moved back to North Dakota and joined them in
farming.
Peter loved the Volmer community and had great stories about Brush Lake days, playing cribbage and cards with friends, trapping fox
and muskrats, snowmobiling, Sunday visits with community friends, ice skating and tobogganing on Brush Lake, hunting trips with
friends to the mountains for elk and hunting in the sand hills. He served on several boards in both the Volmer and Grenora communities.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Orla; three daughters: Carolyn (Joe) Torneo of Thornton, Colorado; Dianne Sorensen of Santa
Barbara, California; Valerie (Phil) Kueffler of Grenora; one son Dana, his farming partner, also of Grenora. Peter had one grandson,
Chad (Courtney) Propst of Cedarburg, Wisconsin; one great granddaughter, Katelyn Grace. He is also survived by three sisters: Anna
Jensen, Plentywood; Julia Parker, Linden, Michigan; and Sylvia Ottenbreit of Spokane, Washington. Peter was Godfather to Karen
Hendricksen Budd, Steven Sorensen and Judy Rude Gafkjen.
Peter is preceded in death by his parents, Sam and Karen, his only brother Jeppe and his oldest sister Marie Jensen.
He was loved and will be missed by his family and friends.
Fulkerson Funeral Home of Plentywood is in charge of arrangements.
| 1922 - 2009 |
Remembering Peter