In addition to his business success, Sorenson is known for his philanthropic efforts. In 2005, Sorenson Genomics helped identify victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami by collecting tissue and dental samples from the most difficult victims to identify and running DNA analysis.

The non-profit Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation is mapping the DNA of the world's family tree, a daunting mission rooted, Sorenson told the Deseret Morning News, in something quite simple: "The primary goal of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation is to show all people how closely we are related as members of the human family, so we will treat one another better."

In 2004, Sorenson Media and the Sorenson Legacy Foundation donated $5 million to Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a university for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.

Locally, Sorenson was the primary donor for the Sorenson Multi-Cultural Center, and he donated $400,000 for a 1,000-seat, outdoor performing arts pavilion in Herriman. He also gave more than $30 million for the restoration of the LDS Church's Nauvoo, Ill., Temple, which was dedicated in June 2002. The year before that, he formed the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, through which he donated $5 million to the church's Perpetual Education Fund.

"My deepest desire is to be engaged in continually improving the lives of others, through the creation of companies that develop new, innovative products and services and create quality jobs and careers; and through charitable endeavors that produce real results," Sorenson said.

Though the companies are diverse, observers and intimates alike say they all stem from the same place and reflect the man and his mission.

"I think the three qualities I associate most closely with my father would have to be vision, faith and tenacity," James Lee Sorenson said. "Dad has the vision to recognize great opportunities many others miss; the faith to invest time, energy and resources in the ideas and projects he believes in, regardless of what others around him may think; and the tenacity to stick with his vision and projects long after others would have quit."

James Lee Sorenson serves as vice chairman of Sorenson Development and has founded and led several of the Sorenson companies. Though his father, at 84, is still hard at work, James Lee Sorenson said his legacy is already emerging.

"I think my father's lasting legacy on Utah will include tangible and intangible elements," he said. "The tangible elements include the innovative companies he has created and the numerous life-enhancing, lifesaving products and the thousands of jobs that have flowed from them. They would also include the philanthropic projects in which he is involved.

"On the intangible side of the ledger are his example and the influence he has had on the people with whom he has come in contact, and how that influence will impact the lives and contributions of others. But honestly, if you asked my father, I think he would say that his greatest legacy is his posterity."

James LeVoy Sorenson has eight children, 47 grandchildren and a growing body of great-grandchildren.

"In everything, I want to help bring out the best in people and to help them realize their great worth and contribution," Sorenson said. "I want to be known as one who tried throughout his life to empower others."

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E-mail: jnii@desnews.com