Darren Eric Sorenson

Darren Eric Sorenson was born June 22, 1964 in Bakersfield, California to Ken and Darlene Sorenson. He passed peacefully from this life at 6:40pm May 13, 2014 at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Pennisula, with his family by his side. Introduced to beach life when his parents bought an ocean front home in 1980, he moved to Monterey, California where he lived out his life. Darren was interested in only two things in life, surfing and surfing. (maybe three, surfing, surfing, and young women.) It happened that he was significantly talented at surfing, and soon developed the skills to become a world class "goofy foot" cold water surfer. So; Darren became the quintessential family "surf bum". He worked as he had to, and when he'd saved enough, he was off to another international adventure. Chasing rogue waves and befriending fellow surfers until he had surfed all the surfable water around the globe. He surfed point break in Central America while guerrilla gunfire echoed in the jungle. He miraculously avoided the bombing of a surfer hangout somewhere in the Indian Ocean. His adventures where clearly the stuff of spine-tingling fiction. Local water for Darren was Carmel Beach, California where he dominated surf contests for many years. In October of 2000, the light of his life, a daughter, Kiana Blaze Sorenson was born. Tragically, in December of the same year, he was injured in an accident, damaging his spinal cord. Darren lived out the remainder of his life paralyzed chest down. Despite his disability, Darren remained stalwart in his determination to have a life. He supervised his own landscape maintenance business, he co-owned and co-managed a retail business in Marina, California, he was responsible for the maintenance of a substantial property in Big Sur, California. Truth be known, it was to his credit that this property was one of few that survived the devastating Pheiffer Ridge fire. His latest venture, begun shortly before his passing, was setting up a shop to manufacture custom competition skateboards, a passion of his youth. He supervised the construction of a steel hydraulic press, and outfitted the shop with wood-working tools necessary for the operation. The courage he managed, living with mind-numbing issues attendant to his injury was beyond what words can describe. He was indeed a special young man. Darren is survived by his mom Darlene, his Dad Ken, his brother Kirk and his wife Kelly, their two daughters, Darrens nieces, Katie and Kristine, all of Bakersfield, his daughter Kiana Blaze, and Kianas' mother and grandmother Aimee Alling and Michelle Barat, all of Pacific Grove, California, and Darrens dear friend, Mary Ellen Klee of Big Sur, California. A paddle-out at sunset, on Carmel Beach, is planned for Darrens' birthday June 22, 2014.