Margaret L. Sorensen

MARGARET S. SORENSEN, 98, died of heart failure November 25, 2010, in Lakeland, Florida. Margaret was born in Wentzville, Missouri on December 14, 1911, and was the daughter of William Houston Small and Lula Johnson Small. She graduated from Summerlin Institute, now Bartow High School, and received her Bachelors Degree from Southern College, now Florida Southern College. She went on to receive her Masters Degree in Education from Florida State College for Women, now Florida State College. Margaret worked for a number of years as the Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent of the Polk County School Board, and at that time the School Board's County Office had three employees. She later taught at schools in Puerto Rica, Venezuela and California. Margaret was always active in her community. She was a founding member of the Cricket Club in Bartow, and she was honored by the Bartow Rotary Club as its Citizen of the Year. She was a strong advocate of the Bartow Public Library and was recognized for her fund raising efforts benefitting the construction of the new library building. She was a lifelong member of the First United Methodist Church in Bartow. Margaret was predeceased by her husband Arthur Edwin Sorensen. She is survived by her brother William H. Small, Jr. of Bartow, and sisters Veulah S. Wilson of Bartow and Gloria S. Syme of Seneca, South Carolina. Arrangements for a service have not yet been finalized. Those wishing to make a donation in memory of Margaret are asked to consider the Bartow Public Library and the First United Methodist Church of Bartow.