Maxine June Sorge

On Tuesday , February 8, Maxine June Kennedy Sorge, 95, of Fort Worth, passed away after a long, full life of remarkable kindness and spark. Through her artwork, music, and poetry, she spread beauty in the world. An instant friend to all, generous with her attention and friendship, Maxine could set anyone at ease with a joke or a funny, often self-deprecating story. She overcame immense difficulty in her life, facing hardships with bravery and perspective, since as she’d often say, “if you can't find the humor in life, you might as well stop the world and get off.” She took on others’ joys and sorrows as her own, and her passing sends out wide ripples across the network of her many loved ones and friends. The youngest child of Allen Stewart Kennedy and Elsie Maude Adams Kennedy, Maxine was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in the family home on Bell Avenue, January 26, 1927. 

All her life she fondly remembered her neighborhood friends, with whom she graduated from Altoona High School in 1944. In early 1947, Maxine was working at Bell Telephone as a switchboard operator. One evening, a young cab driver named Roland picked up Maxine to drive her home. For the two of them, the rest was history. That night, after demanding his dispatcher route her fares only to him, Roland went home and sat down at his mother’s piano, playing a song about “the girl I’m going to marry,” prompting his mother to ask, “Is there something you’d like to tell me?” Maxine married Roland Henry Sorge shortly after, on April 6, 1947. As Maxine told it, “Roland would always pick me up last because that way the cab was full and I would have to sit up front with him! He proposed to me in the kitchen at my home. I was leaning against the sink and he asked me to marry him. And I said yes, because I know a good thing when I see it!” When he enlisted in the US Navy, she joined up by extension, keeping the home fires burning as he traveled the world. During that time, they started their own version of “My Three Sons,” with Alan Paul making his debut on December 12, 1948. Lynn Wayne came along September 23, 1951, and Gary Lee completed the set on June 22, 1953. 

For a few years while Roland was stationed in Columbus, Ohio, the five of them all lived in a 40’x 8’ mobile home. With her trademark ability to make friends and find the humor in challenging situations, Maxine maintained friendships and memories for life that came from those years in that little Ohio trailer park. Over the years, Maxine faced some unexpected setbacks. Two of her three sons, Alan and Gary, were diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, each at only five years old, and Maxine had to learn on the fly how to adjust their nutrition and help care for their health. She also acquired the skills to give each boy his daily insulin injection, and when each one reached age 16, she handed off that responsibility to him. In April 1962, Roland and Maxine lost their 10-year-old son Lynn when, driving back from singing at a church for an Easter service, their car was struck by a drunk driver running a red light. Lynn’s death was a sudden and unimaginable loss for the entire family, and they relied heavily on their Christian faith to see them through. The darkness lifted a bit on September 16, 1963, when Maxine and Roland welcomed their youngest child, a daughter named Tammy Dawn. 

Music was an ever-present joy in Maxine’s life. Her confident and pure alto voice could find a beautiful harmony for any tune, any time, and their young family often sang special music at local churches in their area. One of her fondest memories was that of traveling to Chicago’s Soldier Field at the age of 12, along with her older sister Muriel, to perform on their steel guitars with the Honolulu Conservatory of Music. It remained a wonder to her for her whole life that all those musicians could rehearse separately and then come together to perform as one cohesive unit. In another story Maxine loved to tell, one Sunday, someone requested a song that they knew, but had not practiced recently. Roland, on the piano, began the intro, played to the part where Maxine should come in, but the lyrics escaped her. Undeterred, he began again, only to see that same puzzled expression on Maxine’s face. To alleviate her embarrassment, Roland turned and said to the congregation, “You know, if she didn’t make such a darn good cup of coffee, I would have left her years ago!” The tension broken by gales of laughter, Maxine’s memory returned, but they steadfastly refused ever to sing that song again in church! A lifelong artist, Maxine discovered a new outlet for her natural talents in the 1980s: photography. She was a member for many years of the A.S.A. 80’s Photography Club (now known as ABC Photo Society), and was named both Print Photographer of the Year and Overall Photographer of the Year in 1986, an honor she cherished. Her photographic works, as well as her creations in watercolor, charcoal, and colored pencil were frequently featured at the Altoona Public Library, and once hung in the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. 

Never one for the predictable, in her seventies, Maxine reignited her favorite teenage pastime of roller skating, taking roller dance lessons for several years. Her wide circle of friends at Altoona’s Sir Skate and later at rinks in Johnstown and Indiana, PA grew, along with her confidence on eight wheels. Enjoying the friendship and camaraderie, she achieved several advanced levels competing within her skating club. It was a fun and memorable season of life for her, with many dinners out and trips with her friends, skating to classic 50s and 60s organ music and making memories. Maxine was indisputably a firecracker, and leaves behind many fond memories and funny stories for all who crossed her path. Overcoming nervousness about driving, she got her license for the first time in her sixties. 

Despite a fear of airplanes, in her seventies she flew to see family around the country, and even took a helicopter ride for fun at age 79. She was a firm believer in the joys of a great book and a big ice cream before bed. She was unhesitatingly willing to put herself out to help someone. One wintry day, she saw a delivery driver trying to leave something at her neighbor’s house across the road. Not wanting him to take it back and create further effort for her neighbor, she raced out of her kitchen to call to the driver. She slipped on the packed snow on the step and went feet up, landing hard on her back on the cold patio. The delivery driver braved the steep snowy driveway to check on her, asking, as most would, “Are you okay?” “Do I look okay to you?” came her laughing response. Thankfully, there were no broken bones (that time). As her health declined in recent years, she received care from a variety of medical professionals. 

The family would like to thank Dr. William Ranelle (retired) and Dr. Kacy Pate of Fort Worth Eye Associates, Dr. Carol Mallette of Texas Digestive Disease Consultants, Dr. Alfred Hulse and Joy Jereza De Guzman, RN, FNP of Texas Health Family Care, Dr. Bishnu Sapkota of Lakeside Medical Group in Granbury, Encompass Health Hospice, and ClearFork Memory Care Cottages of Willow Park. Each caregiver consistently took as much time as necessary to listen to concerns, answer questions, and truly care about and for her condition and ever-evolving needs. 

Maxine is survived by her daughter Tammy Davis, son-in-law Russ Davis, and grandson Zach Davis of Fort Worth; daughters-in-law Suzanne Wilt of Altoona, PA and Nadine Sneidar of Amherst, VA; grandchildren Terry Sorge and Leslie Sorge Heath of Jacksonville, FL, Amy Sorge of West Palm Beach, FL, Julie Sorge Way of Harrisonburg, VA, Lalana, Daniel, Xavier and Danelle Sneidar, of Amherst, VA. She is also survived by nine great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren, plus a fifth soon to come, as well as a host of nephews, nieces, great-nephews and great-nieces, and dear friends around the globe. Additionally, she will be missed by her beautiful and loving sister-in-law Nancy Sorge of Huntingdon, PA. 

Maxine was predeceased by her parents; her three sisters, Frances Lenore Kennedy Conrad, Doris Marie Kennedy Raup, and Muriel Hope Kennedy Tenney, her devoted and loving husband Roland in 1981, as well as her sons Alan Paul Sorge and Gary Lee Sorge in 1987 and son Lynn Wayne Sorge in 1962. 

Visitation will be Thursday, February 10 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm at Galbreaith-Pickard Funeral Chapel, 913 N Elm St in Weatherford. Funeral services will be held Friday, February 11 at 10:00 am at the same location. Pastor Shane Scott and the Right Reverend Max Davis will officiate. Interment will take place in the family plot at a later date at Blair Memorial Park in Tipton, PA. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Walnut Creek Baptist Church in Reno, TX, where Maxine was a member. Maxine’s inner strength, a source of amazement for almost everyone who knew her, was fueled by a deep and abiding faith in her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. No matter what life handed her, she trusted in Him to see her through, believing in her heart He would be there for her. He never failed her, not once. If she could bequeath anything to those reading this, she would encourage them to seek a loving and living relationship with Jesus as well, because the consequences are eternal. Although her favorite response when asked for advice was “Don’t give advice!” (perhaps one reason she successfully maintained so many close friendships in her life), when asked a few years ago, she did have these words to share: “Live every day to the fullest. Don't waste your time on things that don't matter. Make every day count. Be kind to everybody and treat others the way you would like to be treated.”
In closing, we share a poem Maxine herself wrote at the time of her best friend Hermie Craw’s passing, one she always said was one of her favorites.

“Once in every lifetime, if you're lucky,
Someone very special comes along
Who has a way to gently lift your spirits
and fill your heart with happiness and song.
I may never know the rhyme or reason
Somehow, some way our paths were meant to cross.
And now I can't imagine life without her
For if and when she goes, I'll feel the loss.
I've been told that nothing lasts forever,
That everything in life must have an end,
But for now I simply want to treasure
The time I have together with my friend.
She's quiet, kind, and treats me like a lady.
I wish we had a lot more time to spend.
Sadly, though, the time has come for parting,
So go with God, you've earned your rest, dear friend."