Thomas W. Sorrell

Thomas W. Sorrell (November 22, 1917 – March 18, 1984) was a career law enforcement officer from Vermont. He was most notable for his service as U.S. Marshal for Vermont from 1961 to 1969.

Biography Thomas William Sorrell was born in Burlington, Vermont on November 22, 1917, a son of William and Irene (née Proulx) Sorrell. He attended the parochial schools of Burlington, and was a 1936 graduate of Burlington's Cathedral High School.

Sorrell served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. After enlisting in 1942, his duty stations included Dow Field, Maine, Bradley Field, Connecticut, and Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. Sorrell attained the rank of technical sergeant and was discharged at the end of the war in 1945.

After his military service, Sorrell joined the Burlington Police Department, where he served from 1947 to 1953. He was a member of the Burlington Police Commission from 1957 to 1960.

Following the election of John F. Kennedy, a Democrat to the presidency in 1960, in 1961 Democrat Sorrell succeeded Dewey H. Perry, a Republican, as U.S. Marshal for Vermont. She won a seat in the Vermont Senate in 1972 and served from 1973 to 1983.