Pen pals keep contact alive 57 years later

TTFN.

Written at the end of every letter since Jan. 16, 1951, "ta-ta for now" was something Marlene Yeomans, 70, and Karen Sorensen, 70, would always remember.

For 57 years, Sorensen, a Peoria resident for 22 years who now lives in Minnesota, and Yeomans, a resident of Wolverhampton, England, wrote each other numerous letters about their likes and dislikes, what they did for fun and, of course, boys.

"It was exciting," Sorensen said. "Letters came from across the ocean, and at the age of 12 it was hard to comprehend how far everything was."

Yeomans started writing letters after her teacher asked her class to write to someone in America. The teacher had a list of potential pen pals, and Sorensen was one of them.

Sorensen's daughter, Marty Sorensen, lives in Peoria and was the reason for the pen pals' recent visit to Arizona.

"I started talking to Marty and she said Marlene couldn't come to the United States and not see the Grand Canyon," the elder Sorensen said.

This was Yeomans' first visit to America. Sorensen visited her in England twice since they started writing, once in 1962 and again last year. It was Sorensen's last visit that finally encouraged Yeomans to come to the United States.

"I really wanted to go, but something always came up, and it just kept getting pushed back, back, back," Yeomans said. "It wasn't until New Year's Eve that I decided to go, because if I wasn't going to go now, I would never go."

Since the arrival, the pair have been reminiscing and going through past letters they wrote each other.

Over the years, there were challenges.

"I was in my late 20s and I hadn't heard from her (Marlene) for a couple of years," Sorensen said. "I was concerned and worried about my friend."

In 1979, Sorensen submitted an advertisement to Yeomans' local paper. A cousin saw the ad, and the letters started coming again.

"I was going through a hard time, but when I saw the ad, I knew I had to start writing again," Yeomans said. "Writing to Karen is a major part of my life, and it spurred me on."

She added of the long-distance friendship, "There was something there right from the beginning. And we've opened our hearts to each other."

Though their correspondence grew less frequent as they grew older, the letters, cards and sometimes gifts kept the international friendship alive.

Sorensen and Yeomans don't have any further plans to visit each other, but they will continue writing and calling each other.

"Writing over the years has brought us together," Sorensen said. "We feel like we're sisters."

Karen Sorensen (left) and Marlene Yeomans have been pen pals for 58 years.