Meriden, New Hampshire

George Dewey Sorenson, 88, Professor of Pathology, Emeritus, at the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, died peacefully at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center on January 28, 2016, lovingly surrounded by his family and friends. The son of George Dewey Sorenson, Sr. and Vera Sorenson, he was born in Corry, PA, a member of a first-generation Danish-American family. Shortly thereafter the family moved to central Pennsylvania where his father became Superintendent and then Fish Commissioner at a large Pennsylvania State fish hatchery and sport fishing area. During summer vacations as a youth he enjoyed helping his father at the fish hatchery and he also spent time helping on his uncles' dairy farms in northeast PA.

George entered Pennsylvania State University as a dairy husbandry major after graduating high school but was called to serve his country with the U.S. Army. After an honorary discharge from the Army, he re-entered Penn State, graduating as a Pre-Med major. He received his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, where he was a member of Alpha Kappa Kappa medical fraternity. Upon completing his internship and residency at University Hospitals, Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, he joined the faculty at Washington University, St. Louis, MO., serving as an Instructor in Pathology and a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Post-doctoral Fellow and later an Associate Professor, as well as a Neuropathologist at Barnes Hospital, St. Louis. He went to France to study electronmicroscopy as a NCI Special Fellow at the Institut de Recherches Scientifique sur le Cancer, Paris. His time in Paris began a life-long love of French culture and subsequently he traveled to France many times, most recently last October. He was recruited as Chair of the Department of Pathology at St. Louis University School of Medicine, remaining there until he became Chair of the Department of Pathology and the John La Porte Given Professor of Cytology at Dartmouth.

Early in his medical career he became interested in international medical education and cancer research. He co-founded the Committee on International Medical Education, later becoming its President, an organization that brought American students to study medicine at the University of Lille, France, where he also served as an Adjunct Professor.

His research on Small Cell Carcinoma of the Lung (SCCL) brought him to the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research in Lausanne, where he collaborated with several Swiss scientists on the cellular aspects of SCCL. He lived in Switzerland during his time there. He traveled to China as a member of a medical team of lung cancer researchers, invited by the Chinese government to advise them on approaches to detection and treatment of lung cancer, a growing medical problem within the Republic of China. He went on a similar mission to Japan. Dr. Sorenson holds several patents for methods in detecting circulating SCCL cells in peripheral blood. He was also a co-founder, Board Member and later Vice President of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

After retiring from Dartmouth, he fulfilled his life-long dream of owning Morgan horses and often said some of his most pleasurable moments were in his barn listening to the horses crunch their hay and settle down for the night. He enjoyed skiing, hiking, gardening, walking on a beach, spending time with his children and grandchildren and going to auctions, which he pursued with enthusiasm, frequently
traveling around New England to antique fairs and special auctions.

He leaves his wife, Patricia, of Meriden, and three children by a previous marriage: Julie (Texas), Ellen (Connecticut) and Eric (Philadelphia); two grandsons, Andrew (Connecticut) and Brian (Camp Pendleton, CA); two nephews, Ronald (Philadelphia) and Christopher (Pittsburgh) and their families, as well as several cousins, including some extended family remaining in Denmark. He was pre-deceased by a son, Peter, his sister and brother-in-law, Isabel and Ronald Bloch, and his nephew David.

His funeral service is scheduled for Saturday, February 6, at 11:00 AM at St. James Episcopal Church, Woodstock, Vermont, with a reception to follow in the Great Hall at St. James. Burial will be in Pine Knoll Cemetery, Hanover, NH, following the reception. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in his memory to one of the following: the Palliative Care Program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center; the Upper Valley Haven, White River Junction, Vermont, or the Upper Valley Humane Society, Lebanon, New Hampshire. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Cabot Funeral Home in Woodstock, Vermont. An on line guest book can be found at cabotfh.com