Inventor, philanthropist James Sorenson, Utah’s richest man, dies at
\n86<\/p>\n
By Joe Bauman and Brice Wallace <\/p>\n
Deseret Morning News <\/p>\n
Published: January 20, 2008 <\/p>\n
James LeVoy Sorenson, whose success as an entrepreneur, real estate
\nmagnate and inventor of numerous medical devices made him Utah’s
\nrichest man, died of cancer Sunday, Jan. 20, at a Salt Lake hospital.
\nBesides his wealth and business acumen, Sorenson was renowned as a
\nphilanthropist. <\/p>\n
Sorenson, whose wealth was estimated to be $4.5 billion last year by
\nForbes magazine, was 86 years old. He was listed as the 68th-richest
\nAmerican in September 2007. <\/p>\n
He was the owner of Sorenson Cos., a parent company to 32
\ncorporations in industries including medicine, bioscience,
\ninvestment\/development and manufacturing. <\/p>\n
Sorenson held more than 40 medical patents during his lifetime and is
\nperhaps best known for co-developing the first real-time computerized
\nheart monitor. He also invented the disposable paper surgical mask,
\nthe plastic venous catheter and a blood recycling system for trauma
\nand surgical procedures, as well as many other medical innovations. <\/p>\n
“I think success in his mind was someone that had ideas, that had a
\nstrong work ethic and a tenacity,” son James Lee Sorenson told the
\nDeseret Morning News. “As you look at examples in the world today,
\nthose are important attributes. I think Dad was a
\ncalculated-risk-taker, and successful people generally are.” <\/p>\n
The younger Sorenson said his father’s legacy will be as “a great
\nAmerican inventor, a man with a tremendous amount of innovation.” <\/p>\n
Among his philanthropic endeavors is Sorenson Molecular Genealogy
\nFoundation, which is creating a worldwide, correlated genetic and
\ngenealogical database used in ancestry research. His donations have
\nhelped a Washington, D.C., university for the deaf and hearing
\nimpaired and assisted in establishment of an outdoor performing arts
\npavilion in Herriman. He gave more than $30 million for restoration
\nof The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ temple in Nauvoo,
\nIll. <\/p>\n
After the tsunami of 2004 hit Thailand, he donated DNA testing kits
\nto assist in identifying the dead, and Sorenson Genomics \u0014 one of his
\ncompanies \u0014 analyzed their DNA, matching some victims with their
\nrelatives. <\/p>\n
He donated land and money to help build the Sorenson Unity Center at
\nCalifornia Avenue and 900 West, next door to the Sorenson
\nMulticultural Center. The YMCA’s Camp Rogers in the Uinta Mountains
\nalso benefited from his generosity. <\/p>\n
He and James Lee Sorenson reached out to help Gallaudet University in
\nWashington, D.C.; together they donated $5 million to the country’s
\nlargest university for the deaf and hearing impaired. <\/p>\n
In April 2007, he gave $6 million to the new Intermountain Medical
\nCenter, raising his contributions to Intermountain Healthcare to $22
\nmillion. He pledged $500,000 during a fund-raiser for Primary
\nChildren’s Medical Center in June 2007. In September 2007, the
\nnonprofit Sorenson Legacy Foundation donated $6 million to the
\nUniversity of Utah, toward the James LeVoy Sorenson Center, which
\nwill be dedicated to encourage innovation and discovery among
\nstudents across Utah. <\/p>\n
A crisis concerning the Legislature’s refusal to fund some items in
\nthe state Medicaid program was averted in 2006 when Sorenson and
\nIntermountain Healthcare donated $1 million each. The next year, the
\nLegislature picked up the tab. <\/p>\n
Sorenson also was a poet and composer of LDS hymns, publishing some
\nof them in a book titled, “Just Love the People, the World Is our
\nFamily.” <\/p>\n
After beginning his career selling pharmaceuticals to physicians for
\nUpjohn Co. in Salt Lake City, Sorenson started buying real estate in
\nthe Salt Lake area. In 1957 he co-founded Deseret Pharmaceutical, and
\nthe company became the foundation for the establishment of Becton
\nDickinson Vascular Access. In 1962, he founded Sorenson Research,
\nwhich was sold to Abbott Laboratories, a Fortune 100 company, in
\n1980. <\/p>\n
He founded LeVoy’s, a company that made lingerie for modest women and
\nused Tupperware-style marketing with parties hosted in homes. He also
\nowned and developed thousands of acres of commercial, residential and
\nagricultural properties throughout Utah. <\/p>\n
Sorenson, who was born in Rexburg, Idaho, and grew up in central
\nCalifornia, is survived by Beverley Taylor Sorenson, his wife of 60
\nyears, and two sons, six daughters, 47 grandchildren and 28
\ngreat-grandchildren. <\/p>\n
Link: http:\/\/deseretnews.com\/dn\/view\/0,5143,695245736,00.html<\/p>\n
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Inventor, philanthropist James Sorenson, Utah’s richest man, dies at 86 By Joe Bauman and Brice Wallace Deseret Morning News Published: January 20, 2008 James LeVoy Sorenson, whose success as an entrepreneur, real estate magnate and inventor of numerous medical devices…<\/p>\n