FENTON — Larry Dean “The Sign Guy” Sorensen, 86, passed away Saturday, August 29, 2026, at the Good Samaritan Home in Estherville.
A funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, September 12, 2026, at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 600 Ash St., Fenton. Visitation will be held at the church from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. before the service.
Larry was born April 14, 1940, in St. James, Minnesota, the youngest of nine children born to Oscar Albert and Lula (Benson) Sorensen.
His family moved to Fenton in 1946 to care for his maternal grandfather. Larry made his home at 605 Ash St. for the next 80 years, becoming a familiar and beloved figure in the community.
Larry attended kindergarten in St. James before continuing his education at Fenton Public School, Fenton Lutheran Parochial School and Sentral High School. He graduated in 1958 as a member of the first class to hold its commencement ceremony inside the newly constructed Sentral gymnasium. His class also helped select the consolidated school’s mascot, the Sentral Satellites.
After high school, Larry worked as a poleman for the local telephone cooperative and later spent several years with a grain-elevator maintenance company.
He enlisted in the United States Army in 1963 and served until his honorable discharge as a specialist fourth class in 1965. Larry received specialized training at Fort Lee, Virginia, as a petroleum production analyst responsible for dispensing and testing military fuels.
His military service took him across the Atlantic Ocean to Kaiserslautern, Germany, where he put that training to work.
After returning home, Larry earned an art certification through the Famous Artists Correspondence Course. That achievement launched the career that earned him the enduring nickname “The Sign Guy.”
Larry painted countless signs throughout the region, but his work also carried him far beyond Iowa. He spent nearly a year traveling and painting signs across the country to the Pacific Ocean and back. Another extended journey took him to Florida and back.
His craftsmanship built lasting relationships with customers who continued calling on him to create new signs or restore his earlier work. Those requests often brought Larry back to communities he had visited years before.
Painting remained his greatest passion, but Larry also loved sports. He was an avid Green Bay Packers fan and became well known as the enthusiastic football announcer for Sentral School.
Larry was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Fenton and Ranney-Weisbrod American Legion Post 627. He enjoyed traveling, taking drives and visiting with patrons at JW’s Vault in Lone Rock.
He also appreciated life’s simple pleasures, including cheeseburgers, brownies and ice cream.
Larry is survived by several nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, and great-great-nieces and great-great-nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Oscar and Lula Sorensen, and his eight siblings, Leroy, Lavinia “Vinnie,” Opal, Alice, Edith, Arthur, Marilyn Jean “Jeannie” and Oscar.
Memorial contributions received in Larry’s honor will be used to purchase a memorial bench at the Fenton American Legion.
Henry-Olson Funeral Home and Crematory in Fenton is assisting the family. To view Larry’s complete obituary and share a memory, please click here.
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