Joanne West Sorensen

Joanne was born Monday, July 24, 1948 at McVeigh of Pike County, KY, a daughter of the late Charlie West and Alma (May) West.

Joanne met her husband Jack Sorensen at a Thanksgiving dinner at Fort Belvoir, Virginia where he was a cook and she was attending with another soldier. When she choked on a shrimp, Jack dislodged it and they began meeting at dances. Joanne married Jack in her parents’ home in Kimper, KY, on January 2, 1971. Joanne and Jack welcomed their only child, Alma Margaret Sorensen, almost three years later.

Joanne was a life-long civil servant. She started her civil service working in Washington, D.C. at the Department of Labor, transferred first to Lexington, KY, and then to Atlanta, GA with Jack. She left Government service for a brief time, shortly after the birth of their daughter, and was a Home Maker for eight years. After moving to Florida in 1980, Joanne returned to civil service at the Naval Training Device Center located on the Recruit Training Command, Naval Training Center in Orlando, FL, first as a member of the secretary pool, and then as a Program Analyst. Joanne worked for the command through several name changes. First in 1988, when the command changed from the Naval Training Device Center to the Naval Training Systems Center and moved to its current location near the University of Central Florida; and then again in 1993, when the named changed to the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD). Several years before her retirement, Joanne transferred to the United States Marine Corps Program Manager Training Systems (PMTRASYS) as an Assistant Program Manager. Joanne retired in 2003 after 29 ½ years of service. After a brief stint as a retiree, Joanne went to work part-time as an Officer Manager for G&S Air Systems. She continued to work for G&S Air Systems until the company was sold and continued on with the new owner when the company changed to Titan Air Conditioning.

Joanne was a member of the United Methodist Church for 43 years. When she first moved to Florida, she became a member of Grace United Methodist Church. Upon its closure, she moved her membership to Pine Hills United Methodist Church until its closure. After short membership at West Oaks United Methodist Church, Joanne most recently was a member of Bear Lake United Methodist Church.

Joanne loved spending time with her family, especially during the holidays. She enjoyed marking the family celebrations and life events through photos. Before the invention of the cell phone, Joanne always had a camera with her. She got into scrapbooking and genealogy after her retirement; and, completed an in-depth genealogy study of her family’s history with her mother, and of Jack’s family history, on her own. Family vacations were often scheduled to Kentucky and Iowa to research birth, death, and marriage records, and even visit cemeteries to ensure family members were not forgotten.

Joanne also loved to travel. She started her travel adventures in the 1960s when she visited her brother Charles when he was stationed in Germany. With Jack, Alma Margaret, other families and friends, Joanne visited a large majority of the U.S. Some of the states she visited include Washington. Oregon, California. Montana, Wyoming, Iowa, Arizona, North and South Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Louisiana, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, and Delaware. Most recently Joanne was excited to visit Solvang, California, the Danish capital of the U.S. She bought traditional danish Christmas ornaments, visited the Danish bakeries, and really enjoyed trying aebleskiver, a golfball-size hybrid between a pancake and a donut that translates from Danish to “apple slices.”

Other than her parents, Joanne was preceded in death by two brothers, Charles Russell West and Thurman Darrell West.

Joanne is survived by her husband, Jack Sorensen of Orlando, FL; daughter, Alma Margaret Sorensen, of La Plata, MD; and one brother, Carl West with his wife, JoAnn West, of Pikeville, KY. Joanne leaves a host of nephews and nieces, great-nephews and nieces, and great-great-nephews and nieces, along with other family and friends to mourn her passing.

Joanne (West) Sorensen will be immensely missed by all those who knew and loved her.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, November 30 from 11am-1pm at J.W. Call Funeral Home Chapel, 703 Hambley Blvd, Pikeville, KY 41501. A graveside service and interment will immediately follow at 1:30pm at Davidson Memorial Gardens at Ivel, KY.

A Celebration of Life will also take place from 2-5pm on January 27th at Bear Lake United Methodist Church in Apopka, Florida.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared for the Sorensen family in the online guest book.