Clinton David Sorlie, 82, passed away Oct. 1, 2018, after a courageous battle with cancer.

David was born in Dawson, Minnesota, on May 21, 1936, to Clinton and Kathleen (Kern) Sorlie. David grew up in Dawson before moving to Minneapolis with his family in 1952. There he graduated from West High School. In 1953, he started his eight years in the Naval Reserve. In 1954, he married Betty Schleske and they had four children. In 1968, they moved to Austin, Minnesota, where they raised their family and were later divorced. David worked for the Austin Police Department for 28 years before retiring in 1996.

David loved golfing, reading, traveling and fishing. While in Austin, he was a member of the Austin Noon Kiwanis Club and served as president from 2012 to 2013. He served on the Austin City Employees Credit Union board from 1988 until 2005. David was also one of the captains of the Spamtown Belle while living in Austin.

In 1989, David married Marlys (Lenz) Thorsheim. They had many years of fun and travel together and were able to see most of the United States, including Hawaii four times. They also traveled to Jamaica, Cabo San Lucas, Cozumel, Cancun, the Grand Turks, St. Thomas and the Bahamas. In 2013, they moved north and settled in Backus, Minnesota, on Ponto Lake. This was a dream come true for them, meeting lots of new people and enjoying the relaxed up north life. David also enjoyed many fun trips to Arkansas or Florida golfing with his best friend, Duane Klingerman.

David was a huge fan of the Twins, but his passion was the Minnesota Vikings. He was always waiting for the Super Bowl win! Every end of season, it was always the “there’s always next year!” David also enjoyed reading and playing cribbage at the Young at Heart Senior Club in Longville, Minnesota. He will be greatly missed by his wife, family and friends.

David was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Diane (Ralph) Rich; and father-in-law, Albert Lenz. Survivors include his wife, Marlys; son, Kevin (Sally) Sorlie of Motley, Minnesota; daughters, Debra (Robert) Westbrook of Norfolk, Virginia, Susan (Tim) Singley of Great Mills, Maryland, and Patricia (Ted) Nagel of Cornell, Wisconsin; stepchildren, Katie (Derrick) Chapman of Rochester, Minnesota, and Matthew Thorsheim (Cassidy Bruyere) of Bemidji, Minnesota; grandchildren, Melissa, Erin, Colin, Beth, David, James, Steve, Jeff, Olivia, Simone, Norah and Matthew Jr.; 14 great-grandchildren; brother, Michael Sorlie of Seattle, Washington; brother-in-law, Ralph Rich of Lakeville, Minnesota; mother-in-law, Helen Lenz of Austin; sister-in-law, Mary (John) Ostertag of Plover, Wisconsin; brother-in-law, Don (Linda) Lenz of Austin; nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.

Visitation will be held from 4-7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018, at the First United Methodist Church in Austin and for one hour prior to the service on Saturday at Pine River United Methodist. The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018, at the Pine River United Methodist. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Hormel Institute Cancer Research Foundation. Arrangements are with Kline Funeral Home, Pine River, Minnesota.