Dorothy (Walker) Sorensen

Joseph Walker married Norah Wilcockson in Yorkshire, England, in 1925. They had five children: Harold 1926, John 1928, Derrick 1930, Dorothy 1934, Audrey 1936.

Dorothy emigrated to Canada after she completed her Nurses’ Training in Leeds, England. She arrived in Whitehorse in the summer of 1962 to continue her nursing career at the “new” Whitehorse General Hospital. She worked at the Whitehorse General Hospital for the next thirty years.

It was a time of adventure for Dorothy and her two other British travellers who arrived at the same time: Marian Bakica the new assistant Matron, and Nesta James as a new general practitioner. The three of them enjoyed getting to see the Yukon countryside, meeting other outdoors people and trying out fishing and hunting.

 It was not long before Dorothy met the young good-looking Harry Sorensen. Dorothy brought him on a visit to England to introduce him to her family and friends. He had a great sense of humor and everyone enjoyed being in his company. They were married on October 29, 1966.

Harry built a log cabin on the shore of the lake at Tagish, which they enjoyed. Their daughter, Kirsten Ann, was born in 1969. Not long after, Harry developed cancer and died in 1971. Dorothy loved the drive out to the cabin. Unfortunately, she eventually had to relinquish the property when the upkeep and the long drive became too much.

Dorothy enjoyed her work on the Medical Ward, and stayed on as head Nurse for her whole career.

The legendary crash and survival of Helen Klaben and Ralph Flores made history in the Yukon in 1963. The two survived 49 days in the wilderness in the winter. Dorothy Sorensen was the staff nurse in charge of the medical ward that evening. Her diary on Monday, March 25, 1963, notes that a man and woman were found alive and brought into the surgical ward and “millions of phone calls” followed.

Dorothy also volunteered with the Women’s Auxiliary of WGH and Line of Life Association for twenty years after her retirement.

Dorothy enjoyed rounds of golf at Mountain View Golf Club, and the tours and yearly Best Garden Competitions held by the Whitehorse Gardening Club. She was also a keen baker and supported many fund-raising endeavours throughout the years, with tasty offerings. She also was a birder helping observe birds for the Yukon Bird Count.

She was truly committed to all her patients, got to know each one personally and also was committed to training the new nurses who arrived to experience the Yukon. She was also not too shy in giving new young docs a little advice on how to behave in the hospital.

Kirsten, her daughter, remembers her mom ironing her uniforms and hats. Dorothy said that this instilled confidence in patients that when she was in charge, they were in good hands.

She loved her family and, over the years sent the children many, many cards and parcels from various travels and for special occasions. The parcels were a wonder of small gifts: photos of fantastic animals, birds and country sides, as well as chocolate coins, souvenirs and local art. Neil Walker, her nephew, remarked that her generosity and warm thoughts toward her family and friends were wonderful. He remembered so many gifts on birthdays, and special events. He added that the Post Office in Whitehorse must have had a parking space with DS painted on it. She put such thought into her postal cards, letters, and packages.

Neil tells of an incident that showed Dorothy’s dead-pan humor. He met her in Vancouver and they went out for a lovely meal. They ate their starter; then the maitre d’ brought two long narrow glasses with what looked like an exotic drink. They then waited and waited and waited for the main course. Finally, Dorothy motioned for the maitre d’ and asked where their meal was. He replied, “But you haven’t had your palate cleansed yet.” They both realized what the tall glasses were for. Without a pause, Dorothy replied, “But I do not have a dirty palate. It doesn’t require cleansing. My palate is spotless.” When they would meet in the future they would recall this incident and have a hearty laugh.

Shannon Johnson stated that when she was a child, the British families in Whitehorse always got together for the major holidays of the year. Dorothy Sorensen was a part of that group.

Dorothy was an active member of the Anglican Church and a member of the choir When Shannon’s grandfather died, Dorothy gave the eulogy. She also kindly accompanied Margaret Johnson, Shannon’s grandmother, back to Whitehorse from a medical stay in Vancouver. When Shannon’s Nana, Doris Barnes, was in Copper Ridge Place Dorothy was a regular visitor.

When Shannon was a child, Dorothy was always Mrs. Sorensen to her. She remarked, “I thought of her as being very stern and quite serious.” But on Hallowe’en when Shannon’s children would arrive at Dorothy’s door, Dorothy would appear all dressed up in a witch’s costume complete with a hat, false earrings and a light-up necklace!

Shannon thought that Dorothy made the very best lemon muffins and fruit salad. Her brother, Pat, loved her rhubarb muffins.

She gave her wedding veil and lovely purse to Shannon’s daughter, Bailey, and was always fascinated by the hair colors that Shannon’s son, Brady, had.

Kirsten remembers the great holidays they had as a family to such places as Hawaii and California. She said that they always went home every year for a couple of months to be with family. Dorothy did a lot of traveling herself across Europe in the late 50s and early 60s. When she retired she loved to cruise. These were educational and some had speakers such as Scott Carpenter and Bopp from Hale Bopp Comet fame. On the cruises, Dorothy immersed herself in the lives of people in such places as Mexico, Australia, Costa Rica and China. She also enjoyed the Oberammergau Passion Play in Germany.

Dorothy Sorensen’s quick humour, great fashion sense and love of travelling will be remembered by those who knew her.

Dorothy spent her last years at the Thomson Centre and passed away on April 19, 2021.

To celebrate your friendship with Dorothy, enjoy watching the spring birds and flower buds arrive.