Arden O. Sorenson, age 93, of Garretson/Jasper, passed away on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, at the Sioux Falls VA Hospice Cottage.
Visitation was from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at the Minnehaha Funeral Home in Garretson, with a Christian Wake Service at 7 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial was at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Garretson. Interment followed in the church cemetery.
Arden was born Oct. 2, 1933, to Otto and Sylva (Kopren) Sorenson, in the DeVall Hospital in Garretson, S.D. He grew up on a farm near Sherman, S.D., and graduated from Garretson High School in 1951. He served two years with the U.S. Army, enlisting in 1954 and spending one year in Stuttgart, Germany. On July 17, 1954, he married his high school sweetheart, Mary Ellen Liester. After his honorable discharge in 1956, they started farming in 1957 in western Rock County, Minnesota, east of Sherman, where they raised four children, Susie, Andrea, Mary Jo and Matt.
Together, Arden and Mary Ellen enjoyed polka, bowling and traveling in their motorhome with friends. Their family memories with their children included annual camping trips to the lake, and as grandchildren came along, they spent many summer vacations camping at Lewis and Clark State Park in South Dakota.
Arden farmed all his life, mentoring and farming with his son, Matt, for many of those years. He received the prestigious Top Farmer Award from the Top Farmer’s Association of America. He was honored as a Pioneer Shipper for the Sioux Falls Stockyards in September 1991. He served on the Minnehaha Co-op Oil Board for several years and was the sexton for the St. Rose of Lima Cemetery for many years. He was recently honored as a 50-year member of the American Legion and was a lifetime member of the V.F.W. He and Matt traveled to Washington, D.C., on the Midwest Honor Flight Mission 7 on Sept. 18, 2021.
Arden will be remembered as a kind and gentle soul.
He is survived by his wife of 72 years, Mary Ellen Sorenson; daughters Susan (Rick) Petersen, Brandon, S.D.; Andrea (Steve) Oye, Luverne, Minn.; Mary Jo (Doug) Flier, Valley Springs, S.D.; and son Matthew (Lori) Sorenson, Garretson, S.D.; grandchildren, Karissa (Justin), Nicholas, Brianne, Jakob, Ryan, Mitchell, Alexx and Jonathan; and three great-grandchildren Colton, Oakley and Bowen; sister Margie Martens; sisters-in-law LaVonne Liester and Jean (Bob) Wick.
He was preceded in death by his parents; brother Dennis (Dorothy) Sorenson; sister Maurine (Marv) Peterson; brothers-in-law Jimmie (Helen) Liester, Bill (Pam) Liester, Jimmy Martens and Mark Liester; and grandson Carson Ehde.
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