Raeola J. Sorensen Raeola J. Sorensen, 93, of Winslow passed away peacefully on Sept. 28, 2021, while living in the home of her daughter, Andrea Rhoton, in Shumway. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Winslow. Visitation will be from 9 to 9:45 a.m. and internment will be at Desert View Cemetery, immediately following the funeral service. Raeola was born June 1, 1928, to Rosetta Helen and Andrew Howard Johnson in Rexburg, Idaho, and was the oldest of five children. She grew up in Blackfoot, Idaho, and graduated from Blackfoot High School where she met her sweetheart, Bert Ray Sorensen. They were married Nov. 28, 1947, in the Idaho Falls Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and spent their first six years together living and working on the PZ Ranch near Winkelman. In 1953 they moved their young family to Phoenix and in 1961 they purchased a small business that took their family to Winslow, which became their “forever” home. Bert and Raeola raised six of their own children and provided a temporary home for several other young people. Most of Raeola’s time was devoted to the care of her children and assisting with bookkeeping and other demands of their business. In addition to these responsibilities, she was a faithful member of her church and served in many different assignments, including that of Stake Relief Society President. After retirement, she and Bert fulfilled a lifelong dream by serving as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, twice, to the people of the Philippine Islands. Raeola will long be remembered for her spiritual and personal strength, as well as her dedication to family and friends. She was loved as a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. She is survived by her children, Susan Bryson (Doran), Steven R. Sorensen-deceased 2009 (Mareen), Andrea Rhoton (Darwin), Bert Douglas Sorensen (Dawn), Gwen Higginson (George), and Jean Zufelt (Kimm). She is also survived by her sister Roma Knudsen and brother Robert Johnson (Janet). “Grandma Great” will be remembered fondly by her posterity, 31 grandchildren, 100 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. Greer’s Mortuary of Winslow handled the arrangements.
