Janet Sorensen

Janet Louise Sorensen, 58, went to be with our Lord in the early morning of Jan. 21, 2008 at her home in Fairbanks. While her passing was unexpected, she is loved deeply and missed greatly. Countless fond memories inexplicably brighten this sorrowful time, her family wrote.

Sorensen was born March 20, 1949 in Greeley, Colo., to Joseph and Anna Shoemaker. The second of four children, she married Stephen Sorensen on Jan. 3, 1970 in Greeley. The Sorensens spent 38 years together and 35 of those years exploring and enjoying many areas of Alaska. In 1973, they homesteaded in the 20-Mile River Valley near Portage, building their first home together in the wilderness. In 1978, they moved to Anchorage, where they built a home on the hillside. On Dec. 14, 1982 Janet gave birth to their first daughter, Anna, and in 1984 the family moved to a farm outside Palmer. A second daughter, Carrie, was born on Aug. 10, 1989. In 1997, Janet and her family moved to Fairbanks, where Anna graduated from Lathrop High School and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and where Carrie will graduate from Lathrop later this year.

Sorensen was an active member of her community, having served as president of the Rotary Club of Palmer and Youth Exchange Officer for the Fairbanks Rotary clubs. Through her involvement, she helped bring many foreign exchange students to Alaska, hosting nine in her own home. She spent her professional career as a physical therapist and owned physical therapy clinics in Palmer and Wasilla. In Fairbanks, she worked at several local clinics, and then provided home health care for Fairbanks Memorial Hospital until her retirement in late 2007.

Since childhood Sorensen was involved in water sports and taught swimming while attending college at the University of Colorado. She also enjoyed water skiing and canoeing in Alaska’s backcountry. Sorensen was an excellent downhill skier and ski racer receiving a third-place medal in slalom and a second-place medal at Masters Nationals in 1981. She skied at many areas in the American West and in Europe.

She is survived by her loving husband, Stephen Paul Sorensen, and their two daughters Anna Marie and Carrie Lelia, all of Fairbanks. Additionally, she is survived by her parents Dr. Joseph and Anna Shoemaker of Greeley; her older brother Ken Shoemaker and his wife, Linda, of Albuquerque, N.M,; her younger brother David Shoemaker and wife, Mary, of Greeley; and her younger sister Phyllis Shoemaker and her husband, Fred Moore, of Seward. Numerous nieces and nephews also mourn her passing.

A celebration of her life was held on Saturday, Jan. 26 at Fairbanks Lutheran Church. Final internment followed on Jan. 27 in Greeley.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Rotary International Foundation. (Rotary.org); or the PolioPlus Program. Sorensen also supported the Annual Programs Fund that sponsors projects for clean water and literacy, among other projects.