SORENSEN, Eigil Kaergaard
April 20, 1929 - June 18, 2016
Eigil "Ike" Sorensen was born as the fifth in family of ten children in the village of Loesning in Denmark. When he was still quite small the family moved to the town of Grenaa.
In 1954 he emigrated to Canada and after a short period in Manitoba and Ontario he settled in BC, working in Kitimat, eventually ending up in Vancouver.
In 1958 while travelling back to his family in Denmark he met Louise Stein and they were married on January 29, 1959 in Louise's home town of Naarden/Bussum in The Netherlands. By March they had travelled to Vancouver where they lived until 1964 when they moved to Surrey, buying acreage near Crescent Park in 1975 where Ike hand-built a West Coast style cedar home. They had two sons, Andrew and Edward, and eventually three grandsons; Elija, Liam and Wyatt.
Ike was a wonderfully patient and loving father and instructor to his children and his grandchildren.
Ike was also amazingly creative and competent technician and craftsman, and an expert in many fields; a true 'Renaissance Man' who restored many classic cars from the ground up to show condition such as a 1962 Jaguar Mark II and a 1929 Cord L-29 (see photo) which routinely won first prizes at Auto shows such as the Van Dusen British car show and the Crescent Beach Invitational. He was an avid prospector and treasure hunter making beautiful sculptures from the rare rocks he collected over years of travel mostly throughout BC and down along the West coast to California and Arizona. Between 1997 and 2010 they operated a Land Development Company called Sunhill.
Ike's unique sense of humour and non-conformist art pieces have been an influence and inspiration to many in the family and the greater community over the years.
He is survived by his wife Louise; his son Andrew and wife Wendy; son Edward and wife Niki; grandsons Elija, Liam, and Wyatt; his brothers Hardy (BC), Leif and wife Billie (BC), Benny and wife Mary Ann (California), and his sisters in Denmark: Anna Lisa, Ellen, and Elsabet and husband Jannis.
Ike passed away peacefully on June 18, 2016.
Many thanks go to the nurses and staff of Westminster House Residence for their more than three years of excellent and loving care.
Instead of flowers or gifts please make a donation to the Peace Arch Hospital Foundation.