Phyllis Sorensen

Mary Phyllis Sorensen, age 88, passed away at her home in Blackfoot, Idaho, on 6 Sep 2011 following a sudden and brief illness. Phyllis was born in Pocatello, Idaho, on 17 Mar 1923 to Henry Gustavus Stokes and Mary Elizabeth Byington. She was the 5 th of 5 children (3 boys - Kenneth Henry, Ernest Theon, and Herbert Lavere; and then 2 girls - Opal Edna and Mary Phyllis). Herbert had died as a baby prior to Phyllis being born. Her father then passed away on 21 Mar 1928 - four days after Phyllis's 5 th birthday. Her widowed mother raised four children during the Great Depression, with no husband to help her, for a good part of Phyllis' childhood. This is when Phyllis learned to work hard and to appreciate whatever she had. Her mother later married Lee Blackburn in 1938, and upon his death, married Franklin Bloxham in 1943. All of Phyllis's siblings have preceded her in death, as have her husband of 55 years and 2 of her grandsons. Phyllis attended schools in Pocatello and graduated from Pocatello High School in 1941. It was at Irving Junior High where she met Alma Kington Sorensen of Tyhee who would later become her husband. She married Alma on 16 Oct 1941 at her family home. Alma and Phyllis made their home on a farm in Tyhee where they raised their 5 children until 1964 when they moved to Sterling, Idaho. Alma and Phyllis helped operate his parents' farm in Tyhee, and they continued to farm in Sterling. She was very fond of animals, flowers, and the outdoors. Phyllis was mainly a homemaker for most of her life, though she held a variety of other jobs over the years - the longest being with the J.R. Simplot Company's potato processing plant in Aberdeen, Idaho. Phyllis was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was baptized on 8 Nov 1931 at the age of 8. Alma passed away on 21 Feb 1997 at the age of 75. Alma (by proxy) and Phyllis were sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple on 18 Sep 2004. For the past 2 years, Phyllis has greatly enjoyed living at The Willows in Blackfoot, Idaho. She was always very appreciative of the kind service rendered in her behalf by the staff at The Willows. She is survived by her five children: Paul Sorensen (LoRene), Leland Sorensen (Laura), Renah Call (Raymond), David Sorensen (Cheryl), and Kathleen George (David), 22 grandchildren, 50 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandson. Funeral services will be held at 12:00 Saturday, 10 Sep 2011, at the Colonial Funeral Home, 2005 South 4 th Avenue, Pocatello. There will be a viewing from 10:30 to 11:30 and a family gathering from 11:30 to 12:00 prior to the funeral services. Interment will be in Restlawn Memorial Gardens in Pocatello. Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.Colonial-FuneralHome.com.