History of Sally Sorenson

1959 I was born to Edwin Stephen Stockwell II and Barbara Ann Marshall Stockwell on April 22. Ed and Barbara were living in Tucson and Barbara was attending the University of Arizona .

1960 My brother Edwin Stephen III was born in Tucson , Arizona on December 12.

1961 Barbara finished school, and got her BA in English with a minor in Spanish. The family moved to Arivaca , Arizona . I don’t remember anything about the move except an image of all our things being tied onto the flatbed of Daddy's Honey truck. A piece to my favorite puzzle was lost during the move. My Dad made me a new puzzle piece, and it was the best piece of all because it was shiny on both sides!

1962 I caught the chicken pox and had to stay at home with Great Grandma Marshall because Eddie fell out of the car and broke his legs. He was in the hospital in Tucson , and Mom went to visit him every day. He caught my chicken pox while he was in the hospital, so he had to be in a room by himself. After I was better I got to go visit him. He had to lie on his back in a crib with his legs stretched out up in the air. His toes stuck out, and they got cold. He liked to have people rub his toes.

1963 My sister Beverly Ann was born in Tucson, Arizona on March 15. Dad took care of Eddie and me while Mom was in the hospital. He made the best scrambled eggs I had ever eaten. I realized later that they were hard-boiled eggs mashed with butter. Mom made a wonderful birthday party for me. She always made wonderful cakes. This year it was a castle. I felt special because none of my friends ever had a castle cake for their birthday. My Mom broke her foot later that year. She stepped on a little train car that Eddie and I had left in the middle of the floor. Poor Mom had to try to take care of two pre-schoolers and baby Beverly while she hopped around on crutches. I remember Mom, propped up at the sink, cooking and washing dishes with her crutches under her arms. Also this year my right knee got very painful. I went to the hospital for a biopsy and was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

1964 I turned five this year, but there was no kindergarten at the elementary school.

1965 I started first grade. Mom made a new dress for me, and I got to ride the bus. I was excited about learning to read and was disappointed when I hadn’t learned by the end of the first day. I was also surprised to learn that the ABC song actually corresponded with the letters. I knew the song, and I recognized the letters, but I had never made the connection before. I went to Sopori Elementary School, which had only two classrooms at that time. First, second, and third grade were in one room and grades four through eight were in the other. My teacher’s name was Mrs. Hart. She was very nice and pretty. I made two new friends – Diana Amado and Maria Pina. There were about 10 first graders, 7-8 second graders, and 6 third graders. Mr. Plumly was the principal, and he taught the big kids.

1966 I started second grade. There were three rooms at the school now and first and second were in a room together. I made another new friend – Kathy Hogan. There was a new girl named Maria Padilla too. She was mean to me, so I didn’t like her. Mrs. Hart had to stop teaching school so she could have a baby and our new teacher was Mrs. Shouse. I sang off key, so she didn’t let me sing for the parents. My youngest brother Robert Tyner was born on December 5^th.

1967 I started the third grade. Third, fourth, and fifth grades were in the new bungalow classroom with bathrooms attached. Our teacher was Mrs. Passanen. She was a marvelous teacher. She was strict, but she had to be with 3 grades in one classroom. We would take turns coming up to the table in the front of the classroom for our lessons, then go back to our seats and work quietly while the other grades had their lessons. I met Stephanie Horine in the third grade. She had moved to the United States from Argentina .

1968 In fourth grade I still had Mrs. Passanen for my teacher, but this year there were fourth, fifth, and sixth grades in the class. So, I was still in the youngest group. In the spring we would have kite flying day. We would ride the bus to a big field not too far from the school and have a lot of fun running with our kites. The best kite I ever had was a free one from Burger King.

1969 Fifth grade was a big change. The school got a new teacher, and another classroom. Mr. Bennett was my teacher. He taught fifth and sixth grade. We practiced our cursive every week, and I was very careful to write neatly so I could get a check plus! We did exercises every afternoon for half an hour. At the beginning of the year I got tired a lot, but by the end of the year I could do all the exercises as long as the record was playing, and run with the fastest group around the playground. We learned about the United States , and had to do state reports. I would go to Grandma Stockwell’s house and use her encyclopedia. I began to play the clarinet.

1970 Sixth grade was an exciting year. We were the biggest kids in the school because Sopori had joined the Sahuarita School District and seventh and eighth grades now rode the bus to Sahuarita for junior high. Mr. Bennett still taught fifth and sixth grade. The sixth grade went on a special graduation trip to Tucson where we went miniature golfing and ate a Sir George’s Royal Buffet.

1971 Seventh grade was a big change. I was scared. We went to many different classes and had many different teachers. The school was huge compared with Sopori. The district was in the process of building a new junior high school, but it wasn’t completed yet so we started the school year in a hallway at the elementary school. Sahuarita elementary school had a whole classroom for each grade! The new school was completed a couple of months after school began. It was circular in design. The out side of the circle was composed of the science labs, home ec. rooms, wood shop, and PE locker rooms. The inside of the circle was a big library with the academic classrooms opening into it. My seventh grade class was the only one that had the boy’s PE coach for a science teacher, and the girl’s Home Ec. Teacher as a math teacher. At this time the educational philosophy was that students worked best at their own pace. I would enjoy myself in class until the end of the term and then work very hard to complete the assignments required for the grade I wanted.

My favorite junior high story is Mr. Bundy’s attempt to show our science class that air has mass. He was the boy’s PE teacher remember. He brought two basket balls into the classroom: one flat, one full of air. He use yards of masking tape to attach the two balls to the ends of a yard stick. He balanced the middle of the yard stick on his finger, and (drum roll) the flat ball was heavier than the full ball. Three cheers for the scientific method.

1972 Eighth grade ushered in more changes. The old band teacher, Mr. Web, retired, and this year we had a young enthusiastic band director named Mr. Hemwall. There wasn’t time for him to teach the eighth grade band, so we were able to join the High School band. It was great for us, but I don’t think the older students liked it very well. The eighth grade graduation was held in the high school gym.

1973 I started High School. I was worried about making friends, but Stephanie Horine was there, and we made a new friend named Audrey Wood. We ate lunch together every day. I had a hard time with algebra at first, but I had a very good teacher, Mr. Tingle. After the first quarter I caught on to the concept of letters as place holders and math became much easier.

1974 In the 10^th grade I took geometry, and discovered my favorite subject. I really enjoyed geometry. I got 100% on the final exam.

1975 The night before 11^th grade started my dad died of a heart attack while playing chess with my grandfather. Mr. Dojaquez came pounding on our door, late at night, to say my dad had a heart attack. My mom went off with him. Beverly and I sat on my bed. We worried and whispered together for ages. The next day – the first day of school – we went to Tucson with my mom so she could make the funeral arrangements. My mom was wonderful. I don’t know how she did it. She took care of all the arrangements, and managed to comfort and nurture us four children.

1976 I got a scholorship to attend a 6 week summer math camp at Utah State University. I had a marvelous time, and decided to join the Mormon church. There is a lot to be said for a church that is right across the street. That fall the Mormon Missionaries came out to Arivaca from Sahuarita and taught me the lessons. I was baptized December 4.

1977 The rest of my family joined the church in March. I graduated from Sahuarita High School in May, and started as a freshman at the University of Arizona in August. There, I met Don Sorenson in the computer lab of my calculus class. He was taking the missionary lessons, and also played clarinet in the U of A marching band.

1978 I got a D in my statics class, and decided I did not want to spend the rest of my life doing physics problems. I changed my major from engineering to education.

1979 I became engaged to be married to Don Sorenson.

1980 I married Don Jeffrey Sorenson on August 9^th.

1981 Jeffrey Dale Sorenson was born four weeks early on May 13th, right in the middle of finals week. Jeffrey and I came home from the hospital on the 16th, and Don graduated from the University of Arizona that same afternoon. Six weeks later we moved to Long Beach, California, and Don started his new job as a chemical engineer at Texaco's Los Angeles Plant.

1982 David Edwin Sorenson was born in Long Beach on October 30^th. My sister Beverly said we had to have a child in 1982, so we could have a child graduate in the year 2000.

1983 I went back to college to finish my degree at CSULB.

1984 Going to school with two babies isn’t easy. I could only go part time.

1985 Amanda Irene Sorenson was born September 27^th, and we moved into our own home November 17^th.

1986 I started babysitting to earn extra money. Owning a house is expensive. Jeffrey started kindergarten at Los Cerritos Elementary School .

1987 David started kindergarten at Los Cerritos Elementary School . Robert Stephen Sorenson was born October 14^th.

1990 I went back to school at CSULB, determined to get my degree. Amanda started kindergarten.

1991 We remodeled our house. I graduated from CSULB in December with a degree in mathematics.

1992 I took the CBEST and was hired as a substitute teacher by LBUSD. Jeffrey started at Hughes Middle School .

1993 Robert started kindergarten. David started at Hughes Middle School .

1996 I went back to school to get my teaching credential.

1997 I finished student teaching and got my preliminary multiple subject credential in December.

1998 I broke my leg on February 3^rd and was laid up for three months.

1999 Jeffrey graduated from Long Beach Poly High School . Amanda started high school at CAMS (California Academy of Math and Science.)

2000 David graduated from Long Beach Poly High School .

2001 Jeffrey left to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He reported to the Missionary Training Center in Provo Utah on April 11. He will serve for two years in the Oklahoma – Tulsa Mission. So far he has been serving in Southwest Missouri .

2002 David is preparing to turn in his mission papers, and I am back at CSULB taking the final class I need for my clear credential. Robert started attending Long Beach Poly High School.

2003 Amanda graduated from Long Beach Poly High School. David married Abiguel Avellano on November 21. I got a long-term substitute position at Lakewood High School teaching geometry and one algebra AB class. Jeffrey came home from his mission, and started school at University of Oklahoma.

2004 I enjoyed the long-term substitute assignment, and got a full-time position teaching math at Lakewood in the fall. I ended up teaching all algebra classes instead of geometry.

2005 Algebra classes are much harder to teach than geometry classes, because the students aren't as mature. Amanda started school at Arizona State University.

2006 David and Abby presented me with my first grandchild. Hailey Dawn Sorenson on January 31, 2006. I resigned my position as a teacher effective at the end of the school year in June. I got a job as a tutor at Educational and Tutorial Services. Teaching just one student at a time is awesome! Robert graduated from Long Beach poly High School, and enrolled at California State University at Long Beach.

2007 Amanda graduated from Arizona State University with a BA in Religious Studies, and left for a year of graduate studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem at the end of July. Robert was called to serve the Lord in the Japan Kobe Mission. He entered the Missionary Training Center in September, and left for Japan with a rudementary knowledge of Japanese in December.

2008 Jeffrey graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from OU. He now has an engineering job with the US Air Force. Amanda is currently persuing her masters degree in biblical languages at the San Francisco Theological Institute. Robert is enjoying his time in Japan, and is becoming more and more proficient with the language. David and Abby are doing well, and Hailey at two and a half, is the cutest little girl ever. Don is still working as a chemical engineer for Conoco Phillips, and I'm still working at ETS, Educational and Tutorial Services. ETS was purchased last spring, and the new owners are the best!

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