Mary Louise Maxwell Sorenson was born near Quinter on Sept. 2, 1927, and died at Presbyterian Manor in Salina on Dec. 22, 2012. She was 85 years old.
Louise was the second of seven children born to George Earl and Mary Hargitt Maxwell. She graduated from Quinter High School in May 1944. Due to teacher shortages during World War II, Louise obtained an emergency certificate and, on her 17th birthday, began teaching eight grades in a Gove County rural school in September 1944.
While teaching in Gove County, Louise obtained a B.A. in education from Fort Hays State University (FHSU) and then began a career in the Salina Public Schools district in 1948 as an elementary school math and science teacher. Louise interrupted her teaching in Salina only to obtain master’s degrees inelementary education at FHSU and in math at Florida State University. Louise retired from teaching in 1988 but then enjoyed being the bookkeeper for Salina True Value Hardware for the following 12 years. Louise always was happy and proud to be greeted by her former students.
Louise married Rexford Scott Sorenson, a former English professor at Kansas Wesleyan University, on March 20, 1971. Their happy union ended with the death of Rexford in November 2010.
Louise was a life member of Alpha Delta Kappa, a teachers’ sorority, and a member of United Methodist Church. She took part in the activities of her extended family and greatly enjoyed all of her nieces and nephews.
Louise is survived by three sisters, Loree Holaday, of Grinnell, Anita (William) Bray, of Hawthorne, Nev., and Luella Hadland, of Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada; two brothers, Gordon (Evelyn) Maxwell, of Salina, and Laverne (Marlene) Maxwell, of Quinter; and by numerous nieces and nephews and their children. Her brother, Leonard Maxwell, of Hanston, died in 1999, and her nephew, Larry Maxwell, of Quinter, died in 1979.
Funeral services for Louise will be at 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28, at Quinter United Methodist Church. Schmidt Funeral Home, Quinter, is in charge of arrangements.