RICHARD SORENSEN Obituary

SORENSEN--Richard Parry. Richard passed away peacefully on April 19, 2024. His family and friends remember him as a "true original" with a generous spirit, a great sense of humor, and a gift for storytelling. Richard was born on August 30, 1943, to Margaret Christensen Sorensen and Parry Daniel Sorensen, and raised in Salt Lake City, UT. He was a proud Highland High Ram. He excelled in basketball and football as well as academics; his well- rounded achievements earned him a Harvard National Scholarship. In his youth, Richard developed lifelong friendships with Rod Decker and Larry DuBois, both of whom he communicated with until the day he died. He attended Harvard College where he concentrated in Government, lived in John Finley's Eliot House, and wrote for the Crimson. Richard then spent two years as a Rhodes Scholar at Merton College, Oxford, which reinforced his love of Shakespeare and Winston Churchill and introduced him to rugby and London dry gin. Before starting his career as a professional writer, Richard returned to Harvard to work in the admissions office and serve as a proctor in Stoughton North. For the next forty years until his retirement, his career spanned politics, public relations, financial services, and technology. While conventionally described as a writer, Richard often referred to himself as his clients' "resident intellectual." The highlights of his career were the stories about the people he worked with, such as the time he debated Steve Jobs over the use of a single word. Much of Richard's best work as a writer was unpaid -- wedding toasts, letters of recommendation, and prayers at family gatherings. Perhaps his favorite story was how he met his wife Mary. It included his favorite bar (the Hawk n' Dove on Capitol Hill), his request for "a moment of her time" (which turned into a 45- year partnership), and a first date attended by four of his closest friends (Paul Meagher, Chris Matthews, Sandy Gilmour, and Henry Canaday). Richard and Mary were a formidable team, raising two accomplished children who followed their dad to Harvard. He was a proud member of the Harvard Club of New Jersey and served as its president in 2001-2002. In everything he did, Richard demonstrated a strong moral compass and a sense of right and wrong. Richard was predeceased by his parents as well as his two beloved black standard poodles, Phoebe and Daphne. He is survived by his wife, Mary Sorensen of North Caldwell, NJ; his daughter, Katherine Sorensen and her husband Patrick Hebert of Long Island City, NY; his son, Parry Sorensen and his wife Lydia Sorensen of New York, NY; and adored grandchildren, Teddy, Charlotte, and Anders Sorensen of New York, NY. He is also survived by his brothers Daniel, Michael, and William Sorensen of Salt Lake City, UT; sister Holly Thompson of Stanford, CA; and many nieces, nephews, and close friends. In lieu of flowers, donations in Richard's memory can be made to the Harvard Club of New Jersey Scholarship Fund at Harvard University, PO Box 419209, Boston, MA 02241-9209.