Steven R. Sorensen

Steven Ray Sorensen was born Oct. 18, 1949, in Mesa, Ariz., to Bert and Raeola Sorensen.

His early years were spent at the P.Z. Ranch near Winkelman, Ariz. By age 5, his family had located to Phoenix, Ariz., and at age 14 to Winslow, Ariz., where Steve graduated from Winslow High School in 1967.

Steve began college at Northern Arizona University on a music scholarship. He interrupted his education to serve as an LDS missionary in the Kentucky/Tennessee mission. After his mission, he continued his education at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, and later at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in history and an Master of Science in library science.

Steve's greatest loves were his family, LDS church history and fishing a dry fly. In 1974, Steve married Mareen Peterson in the LDS Temple in Provo. In 1980, he began a distinguished career as an archivist for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving many years as the director of church archives, a stimulating job that took him to many areas of the world. Steve's significant contributions to the preservation of the church's history were acknowledged by many, including the Mormon History Association, which awarded him its highest distinction in 2006. At the time of his death, he was an editor of the Joseph Smith Papers.

Steve's earthly life ended May 29, 2009, at the Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., where he had been a lung-transplant recipient following a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis. He slipped quietly away surrounded by his wife and seven children.

Steve is survived by his wife, Mareen; seven children, Dane (Cassandra), Kirsten (Jason) Carson, Andrew (Merilee), Ernest (Melanie), Jon, Annikka (Jason) Fluckiger and Curtis (Emily); 11 grandchildren; five siblings, Douglas, Susan Bryson, Andrea Rhoton, Gwen Higginson and Jean Zufelt; and his parents.

Steve's family wishes to thank the doctors and nurses at the Stanford University Medical Center, including the Heart and Lung Transplant team, as well as Dr. Tracy Hill in Provo, Utah, who worked tirelessly to allow Steve to spend more precious time with his family and loved ones.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 4, at the Sharon East Stake Center, at 1060 E. 2400 North in Provo, Utah. Public viewings will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary, 495 S. State in Orem, Utah, and preceding the funeral service from 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Interment will be at noon Saturday, June 6, in Pineview Cemetery on Highway 47 in Ashton, Idaho. Condolences may be sent to the family at www .sundbergolpinmortuary .com. In lieu flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis, online at www.coalitionforpf.org/cpf_contribute.php.