Patricia Louise Sorteberg, age 89 of Franklin, TN passed-away September 4, 2020. Patricia was born in Glendale, California on March 22, 1931 to Emily Louise and William Benjamin Cleves III. Louise ran the household and Bill was an attorney and VP for the Yellow Cab Company in Los Angeles. Patty Lou was an only child until the age of 8 when the Cleves family welcomed little brother, William Benjamin Cleves, IV. When her father, a veteran of WW1, re-enlisted during WW2, they invited another family to join them in their household for the duration of his deployment. The Taylor family joined the Cleves’ household for a period of time, and they remained lifelong friends. Growing up the daughter of a high-ranking Mason, Pat became an active member of the charitable organization, Rainbow Girls throughout her high school years. After graduating from Glendale High School, and continuing studies at Glendale Community College, Patricia attended the University of Washington in Seattle for a summer, which she absolutely loved, before returning to southern California, where she enrolled in the first three-year Nursing Program at the California Hospital School of Nursing, graduating in 1952. During her training, she spent a rotation at the Brentwood Psychiatric Hospital, where she met a handsome coworker, Robert Sorteberg. They married in 1953, on the hottest day of the year in Los Angeles. Scenes from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” were filmed at that Brentwood location, and they always thought of it as a romantic movie! Pat, began her nursing career in Labor and Delivery, working at Intercommunity Hospital in Covina; County Hospital in Los Angeles; and, in 1963, she accepted a position at the newly built Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina, California. Along the way, an injury prompted a change of focus in her career. She turned her skills to the Neo-natal intensive care unit, until March of 1996 when she retired after 37 years in nursing. Prompted by her cousin Charlaine, Pat began researching her family tree and developed a keen interest in Genealogy. She and Bob soon became specialists in genealogical research across many cultural groups. This led to travels throughout the British Isles and Scandinavia to learn about their roots, as well as training other researchers at genealogical conventions and meetings across the US. They also became active with Sons of Norway and were founding members of the Music City Vikings in Nashville. In 2006, Pat and Bob decided to relocate from southern California to be closer to their daughter, Sharon and her husband, comedian Bruce Williams of Williams and Ree, settling in nearby Hendersonville. Daughter Rachel and her then husband, noted musician Eric Bikales, with their daughter (Pat and Bob’s granddaughter) Anna Bikales soon followed the rest of the family to the Nashville area. Pat and Bob moved to Franklin, TN where they eventually settled at Belvedere Commons. Bob passed-away in 2013, and Pat remained at Belvedere where she made many dear friends. She was active and popular there and will be greatly missed by all who knew her. She was adventurous, intelligent, practical, empathetic, and always ready with an open mind and compassionate heart.
Preceded in death by her parents, Louise and William B. Cleves, III; husband, Robert Wayne Sorteberg; and brother, William Benjamin Cleves, IV. She is survived by daughters, Rachel Sorteberg and Sharon (Bruce) Williams, and granddaughter, Anna Bikales. A Graveside Service will be conducted at Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery on Monday, September 21, 2020 at 12:30PM.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association.
