John Sorgaard

John Sorgaard was born on February 2, 1962 at St. Lukes Hospital in Fargo. He lived in Fargo until 1967 when he moved with his family to Anaheim, California. He went to kindergarten at John Marshall Elementary School. In 1968, he returned to Fargo and became a first grader at Carl Ben Eielson Elementary. From there he went to Agassiz Junior High and then on to South High School. At South High, he played football on the Bruins team that won the North Dakota State championship. He graduated in 1980 and attended Moorhead State University. He graduated in 1984 with a B.A. degree in Art and Graphic Design. He went to work for Johnson Design in Minneapolis among other firms throughout the years, including Duffy Design Group. Later he moved to Colorhouse for printing and design. In February 1987, he married Anne LeClerc. In his work at Colorhouse, he did printing and design work for several high profile clients. In 1997, he and Anne divorced. In 1998, he moved to Xhongshon, China to supervise printing, packaging and design for Target, Best Buy and other high profile clients. In 2003, he married Xiao Tong. In 2010, their son Odin was born. In 2016, the family returned to Minnesota and Odin started kindergarten. John and Xiao Tong were divorced in 2018.

John was currently living in Minnetonka, Minnesota with Odin. He tragically died on June 22nd when he fell from his third floor apartment balcony when the railing broke. He is survived by his son Odin, his father Clemence, his two brothers Eric and Mark. He is also survived by his nephew (and godson) Jordan Eichenberger, his sister Gillian Eichenberger and Mark’s daughters Skylar and Silje. He was preceded in death by his mother Sylvia and his sister Suzanne.

A Norwegian-style wake will be held on July 17 from 6-10 at the Barrel Room in Brewhalla in Fargo to celebrate John. Please come, bring your funny stories and be prepared to toast him. A lot.