George L. 'Bud' Sorden, Jr. 13 Mar 1939 – 06 Nov 2013

SORDEN, BARKER, WEMER, BUEHNEMAN, WINN, HOYLMAN, OFFERMAN, HOL, GENT, LEINENWEAVER

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 11/13/2013 at 15:53:49

George Sorden Jr., 74

A going home celebration for George L. “Bud” Sorden Jr., 74, rural South English, was held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at Hilltop Chapel, What Cheer. He died Nov. 6, 2013, at his home from cancer.

The Rev. John DeBoef officiated at the service.

Burial was in the Sorden Cemetery near Webster.

A general memorial fund has been established or donors may give to the Antique Airfield Association in Blakesburg.

Powell Funeral Home, North English, was in charge of arrangements. Memorials and tributes may be left at www.powellfuneralhomes.com .

George L. Sorden was born March 13, 1939, in San Diego, Calif., the son of George L. and Dorothy L. Barker Sorden. He moved to Iowa with his parents and later moved to Albuquerque, N.M., as a child. He grew up near an Army Air Base where his father worked Civil Service after spending four years in the U.S. Navy. He found his love of airplanes there, learning to identify them by their sound in the air.

In 1944, he moved back to Iowa. He attended all his schooling at Webster Consolidated School, Webster, graduaing in the school’s last class in 1956.

He married his school sweetheart Elaine E. Wemer, Feb. 21, 1959, in Webster. The couple had three children, Roy D., John B. and Julie M.

In 1961, he started flying. In 1962, he obtained his private license and in 1963, his commercial ticket. He then acquired thousands of hours in the air, flying ferry flights for dealers, some spraying and as a charter pilot for Solar Homes.

He owned 17 different airplanes, his favorite being a 1940 Meyers OTW, a World War II bi-plane. In 2012, he received the Wright Brothers “Master Pilot” Award from the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration for over 50 consecutive years of safe aircraft flight.

Bud was active as a Boy Scout leader, providing hunter safety programs and taking many young people on airplane rides. He collected Old Allis Chalmers tractors and machinery. In 1984, along with his wife and the late Shorty Edmundson, he formed the Flying Eagle Ministries, taking food and clothing to the needy in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky.

Virtually all of his life was spent in the Webster community. He moved from the Sorden farm north of Webster to his present residence in 1969. He spent most of his life farming and OTR truck driving.

His interests were his family, flying, hunting, fishing and conservation. He was an active member of Hilltop Chapel, Experimental Aircraft Association, a longtime member of Antique Aircraft Association and a member of Allis Connection. He was president of Sorden Cemetery Association, a past member of Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, president of Webster High School Alumni and was on the board of the Keokuk County Historical Society.

Sorden is survived by his wife, Elaine; son, John (Betty) Sorden, Webster; daughter, Julie Sorden and Richard Buehneman, South English; grandchildren, Renee (Lenny) Winn, Rochester; Sasha (Josh) Hoylman, South English; Chastity (Quenten) Offerman, North English; Timber Sorden, North English; Brett Buehneman, Monroe; Annie Jayne (Nick) Hol, Beacon; 14 great-grandchildren; his mother, Dorothy Sorden, North English; one sister, Donna (Raymond) Gent, South English, and special friends Keith and Marlene Leinenweaver, South English.

He was preceded in death by his father and one son, Roy.

The Williamsburg Journal Tribune, 14 Nov 2013
Published in The Gazette 08 Nov 2013
The English Valleys Star 13 Nov 2013