In Memory of my friend and colleague Dave
On Thursday December 1, 2022 my friend and colleague Dave Sorenson passed away. His life was taken from him in a random and senseless act of violence while Dave and his wife Barb were on vacation in New Orleans.
Dave and I have been friends for over 20 years. Dave had many friends and most felt a unique bond with him. You could be doing work for Dave, or Dave could be doing work for you, and somehow Dave was good at turning that into friendship. As a friend Dave introduced me to the St. Louis blues community. He loved blues music and enjoyed sharing that with others. One of my more recent voice messages from Dave was to let me know about a tribute on a St Louis station for the late Roland Johnson, who passed away just a few weeks before Dave.
As a colleague Dave and I attended many hours of meetings and conferences together. Other colleagues have also shared memories through those meetings and conferences over the years. In one of those early conferences, Dave suggested the idea of starting a professional study group. A place where a few like-minded planners and investment advisors could come together to share ideas related to our business. For over 20 years that group has met in some form or another on a consistent basis. Occasionally Dave would break out into a harmonica solo in our meeting. I think that was his way of letting us know he was done with that topic, and it was time to move on.
My wife Diane and I have 3 daughters and Dave and his wife Barb attended all 3 of their weddings. They treated us like family and helped us mark significant life events. In the last 10 years or so you would be hard pressed to find very many 48-hour time slots where Dave and I did not communicate with each other in some form or another. Sometimes those were important conversations, sometimes we were just checking in with each other, and at times those conversations were filled with humor. Dave was a very funny guy.
Dave was a man of faith, and we had many spiritual conversations. He enjoyed talking about how our faith impacts the world around us and even how the world around us can impact faith. Sometimes we would talk about a book one of us read or share thoughts from a recent church service. And like the professional study group, Dave also had a men’s group where he spent time with other faith oriented men where they read books and shared life together. Those men impacted Dave and I know he had an impact on them as well.
In the gospel of John Chapter 10 Jesus said, “I am come that you may have life, and have it to the full.” When I think of Dave, I think of a man who lived his life to the full.
Like so many others I am going to miss Dave. I will miss his friendship and his wisdom. At the same time, I feel one of the best ways I can honor Dave is to press on – leaning into each new day God grants me – living life to the full.