Stephen Charles Sorton passed away peacefully on June 5th, 2017 in his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was 76. Steve graduated high school in Anderson South Carolina in 1958, one year after the Sputnik launch. He was a member of the Science Club, referred to as the “Future Sputniks” at Anderson High. Steve studied and passed the test to receive an amateur radio license while he was a teenager. Prior to college and his military career, Steve worked at a local radio station, keeping their equipment and antennas operating. He had a passion for radio communications all his life.
His enthusiasm for electronics and unwavering patriotism led him to go to college at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, where he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering in 1962. His first job in the Air Force involved the tracking and identification of space objects. He worked in missile defense radar systems for over a decade, including Submarine Launched Base Missile (SLBM) systems at Shemya AFB in Alaska, McDill AFB in Florida, and Ent Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Steve served in the Fourteenth Aerospace Force at Ent Air Force base with the rank of Major until its closing in 1975.
Following his service in the Air Force he worked at TRW electronics and Ford Aerospace. One of his favorite jobs at TRW was testing electronic and radio systems that were used in the Space Shuttle program.
Steve was a life-long member of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). He is remembered by friends and neighbors for being a helping hand whenever a piece of electronics or a radio antenna needed attention. Before cable TV became so prevalent he would frequently be on a neighbor’s rooftop helping them set up or fix their TV antenna. He occasionally used his radio skills and equipment as a volunteer for search and rescue operations, and during severe weather to monitor flood risk levels at monitoring points around the city of Colorado Springs.
He was preceded in death by parents Fred Charles Sorton and Helen M (Barker) Sorton of Boca Raton, Florida. He is survived by his wife of fifty-one years, Annabella Hedi (Malinowski) Sorton. He leaves behind his daughter Cynthia Louise Sorton of Colorado Springs, Stephen Karl Sorton and his wife Dana (Legg) Sorton of Bothell, Washington, and his grandchildren Jacob Dillon Sorton and Laura Marrel Sorton of Bothell, Washington. His brother Melvin resides in West Lafayette, Indiana.
A memorial will be held at the Swan Law Funeral Home – 501 N. Cascade Ave on June 28th at noon. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Jimmy V foundation for cancer research are encouraged. www.jimmyv.org – See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/gazette/obituary.aspx?n=steve-sorton&pid=185840499&fhid=6111#sthash.sLgrt3SG.dpuf
Posted in: The Gazette
Posted on: 2017-06-19
Link to original obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/gazette/obituary.aspx?n=steve-sorton&pid=185840499&fhid=6111