[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8247]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  REMEMBERING BEVERLEY TAYLOR SORENSON

  Mr. HATCH. Madam President, today I wish to pay tribute to a 
wonderful woman, generous philanthropist, and tireless advocate for 
arts and education--Beverley Taylor Sorenson. Sadly, Utah and our 
Nation lost a truly delightful and influential woman this past week as 
she quietly passed away at the age of 89 surrounded by her loved ones.
  I have known and worked closely with Beverley and her late husband 
James ``Jim'' Sorenson for many years and have always admired her work 
ethic, her commitment to serving others, and of course her love for and 
appreciation of the arts and the influence it can have in the lives of 
many.
  Her love of the arts began at an early age as she fondly remembers 
music always playing in her childhood home. She grew into an 
accomplished dancer and pianist; in fact she would later earn money 
accompanying dance classes in Salt Lake City to help put herself 
through college.
  Perhaps it was her own childhood experiences of personal arts 
education that later led to her passion for providing generations of 
children with the opportunity to learn and grow through the study of 
art and the many disciplines it entails. She witnessed firsthand the 
positive effects of arts education in many young lives and schools 
throughout the valley and set about trying to bring it to every corner 
of our State.
  She was the driving impetus in the creation of Art Works for Kids, a 
program integrating arts based concepts into traditional core education 
subjects with wonderful results. She believed in this program greatly 
and felt that children would learn and retain more knowledge when 
coupled with art activities.
  Because of her tireless efforts, the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts 
Learning Program, BTS Program, will serve tens of thousands of students 
during the upcoming school year at approximately 130 Utah elementary 
schools.
  Beverley and Jim also created the Sorenson Legacy Foundation to 
support programs and projects that would benefit the lives of people 
throughout the world, giving generously and supporting vigorously. 
Together they built a lasting legacy of humanitarian service and 
philanthropy that has benefitted thousands and will continue to help 
generations to come.
  Not only did Beverley dedicate herself to community efforts, she was 
a wonderful wife and mother, raising 2 sons, 6 daughters, and loving 
and mentoring 49 grandchildren and 65 great-grandchildren. She truly 
leaves behind a wonderful posterity who can build upon their mother and 
grandmother's example of a life well lived.
  The impact and contributions Beverley Taylor Sorenson made to her 
family, our State, and our Nation will be felt for years to come. She 
was truly a magnificent lady who deeply cared about others and set 
about to do good throughout her life. Elaine and I send our deepest 
sympathies to her family and hope that they will find peace and comfort 
in the memories they share of this remarkable person.

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