JAY BERTRAM Age 82, a resident of Albuquerque, NM since 1970, died peacefully at home with his family present on Monday, August 15, 2011. Jay was born in 1929 in Manhattan, to parents Gene and Sarah Sorenson, both seasoned labor organizers. He grew up in Greenwich Village, steeped in the culture of unions, rallies, and all-night sessions of political discourse. After a time, the family moved to Perry St. and Jay attended Seward Park High School, along with notables such as Lucky Luciano. He earned a PhD in political science from Columbia University, with a concentration in Soviet studies. He was among the first group of Americans to visit the Soviet Union after the Stalin era. Following his graduation he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study the full employment policies in Norway. Girlfriend Mary Louise Ellis refused to let him leave a bachelor, and the two soon married & set sail for Europe. Returning from Norway in 1960, he accepted a teaching position at Princeton University in 1960, and in 1963, he moved to Smith College in Northampton, MA. In 1969 he published Life and Death of Soviet Trade Unionism. Albuquerque quickly became his adopted home in 1970, when he accepted a full professorship in the Political Science department at UNM. Jay's knowledge of foreign affairs and the Soviet Union led to an expert level understanding of weapons programs and his appointment to be an advisor to Senator Pete Domenici on the SALT agreements. His interest turned to the impact of nuclear weapons development on the environment and ground water. He was on the Sierra Club's Sum Zero Waste Committee in the 1990s Sierra Club to address nuclear waste issues, an effort to establish a 100% waste free production process for goods and services. In 1975 the Sorenson family went on a raft trip down the Rio Grande outside Taos, an event that would change his life. Following this event, he became an avid river rat and an activist for legal protection of wilderness areas and rivers. Jay took up a leadership role in the Chama River Trust resulting in the designation of the Chama River as Wild and Scenic in the 1978 Wilderness Act "Jay was a political activist and a visionary conservationist. He was a Gary Hart delegate to the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco. He was at the forefront of the creation of the Elena Gallegos Open Space for the City of Albuquerque in 1982. Jay and his wife, Mary Lou, worked with me at the legislature to help get state funding to match the federal funds for the Petroglyph National Park. Jay loved the New Mexico land and our rivers and he helped to preserve and protect both." Former NM State Senator Pauline Eisenstadt. "Jay was often ahead of his time on environmental issues, including global warming. In 1989, at the Conference on Technology Sharing to Reduce International Tensions sponsored by Los Alamos National Labs, he presented a paper entitled "World Wide Solar Power Satellite System (WWSPSS) to Reduce Carbon Dioxide: Do You Know a Better Way?" Mel Eisenstadt, Municipal Judge, and Author. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Mary Louise Sorenson; children, Vivian Sorenson and husband, Gary Meister, of New York City; and Eugene Sorenson and wife, Andree Sanders, of New York City; and grandchildren, Campbell Jay Sorenson, Louisa MacLaine Sorenson and Zoe Boo Meister. A memorial service will be held Sunday, August 21, 2011, 10:00 a.m., at UNM Chapel, with Rabbi Min Kantrowitz officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Wilderness Society (www.wilderness.org). Please visit our online guestbook for Jay at www.RememberTheirStory.com. FRENCH 1111 University Blvd. NE (505) 843-6333
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