Sorenson's son talks about his father

The death Sunday of James LeVoy Sorenson brought an end to the life of Utah's richest man, who from humble beginnings became a successful entrepreneur, real estate owner, inventor and philanthropist.

In a chat with the Deseret Morning News, one of his sons, James Lee Sorenson, had this to say about his father:

• About his business endeavors:

"He has succeeded on many fronts, from different businesses. He was constantly interested in new ideas and new technologies and new potential acquisitions.

"Dad never really got that involved in development, but he had an uncanny sense of knowing where population migrations were going to be and being there well in advance.

"Dad liked to be really involved in worthwhile things, so he pretty much made his fortune in creating companies that did good things, companies that were home-grown — he was not a buyout specialist that would go in buy out companies and turn them around. He started with new ideas and created companies."

• About his top achievement:

"I would say he's probably most proud of his family. If you were to ask him about his most prized accomplishment or possession, it would be his family, and that family is 47 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren. He was very prolific in that area, as well."

• About things that the public perhaps did not know about him:

"I think there are probably things not everybody knows. Dad really loved poetry, and early on when he was working to succeed in business, he spent a lot of time reading poetry and found great solace in that.

"Dad loved nature. He loved to be alone and to see the beautiful things in nature. Not many people would know that.

"Dad really took an interest in common people and would often just strike up conversations or interact with anybody in just typical daily situations. And they had no idea. He didn't have a driver or a lot of things that would sometimes segregate him or distinguish him from the rest of us. He was very common and very practical."

— Brice Wallace, Deseret Morning News