Norman Axtell Norman, born April 18, 1913, in Kirbyville, Texas, was the last of seven children born to William Henry Norman and Ollie (Axtell) Norman.
On July 29, 1913, when Norman was only 3 months old, his oldest sister, Sarah Pearl Norman, died by drowning along with two of her friends in Cow Creek near Kirbyville. Norman's parents were devastated by Pearl's death. They left Kirbyville and eventually returned to their original home town of Flagstaff, Arizona. Sometime after returning to Flagstaff, Norman's parents separated; His mother stayed in Flagstaff with the children and his father moved to Madera, Mexico, where he went to work as a Saw Filer for an English Lumber Company.
Norman grew up in and around Flagstaff, graduating from Flagstaff High School in 1931. Shortly after graduation, Norman left his mother and moved to Chicago, Illinois, to live and work under the tutelage of Mr. & Mrs. Charles Hoinville. His mother died a few months later in Winona, Arizona. For the next 10 years Norman lived and worked for the Hoinvilles, alternating between winters in Chicago and summers at Hoinville Hills in Northern Wisconsin. During this time Norman attended and graduated from Coyne Electrical School in Chicago. He also met Mildred Emma Jensen.
Norman proposed to Mildred in the summer of 1941, only to have their marriage interrupted by the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Norman served with the U.S. Army in the South Pacific during World War II, including at Guadalcanal, Fiji Islands and New Caledonia. He eventually suffered from malaria and was stationed stateside for the duration of the war. Norman and Mildred were married in her home town of Blue Island, Illinois on April 29, 1944. With a good recommendation from Charles Hoinville, Norman was hired as an electrician with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, working on the large diesel locomotives. Norman and Mildred lived in an apartment in Chicago for a few years, then bought a home in the suburb of Hazel Crest.
Four children were born to Norman and Mildred Norman, three in Illinois and one later in Arizona.
In late 1959, at the urging of his sister Dorothy who said that the growing community of Sedona, Arizona, was in need of a good electrician, Norman loaded up his family and moved to Sedona. He established his own electrical contracting and appliance repair business and soon became well known and well respected in the community.
Norman was an avid hunter and fisherman. The very best time of year for him was deer season, when he and his two sons, and a few close friends would spend a few weeks in the remote Arizona Strip. He was also a founding member of the Sedona Elks Lodge and served a term as Exalted Ruler. In 1979 he was voted Elk of the Year.
Norman died on February 20, 2002. His body was cremated and his ashes, along with the ashes of his wife Mildred, were scattered at a private location on Schnebly Hill, near Sedona.
On July 29, 1913, when Norman was only 3 months old, his oldest sister, Sarah Pearl Norman, died by drowning along with two of her friends in Cow Creek near Kirbyville. Norman's parents were devastated by Pearl's death. They left Kirbyville and eventually returned to their original home town of Flagstaff, Arizona. Sometime after returning to Flagstaff, Norman's parents separated; His mother stayed in Flagstaff with the children and his father moved to Madera, Mexico, where he went to work as a Saw Filer for an English Lumber Company.
Norman grew up in and around Flagstaff, graduating from Flagstaff High School in 1931. Shortly after graduation, Norman left his mother and moved to Chicago, Illinois, to live and work under the tutelage of Mr. & Mrs. Charles Hoinville. His mother died a few months later in Winona, Arizona. For the next 10 years Norman lived and worked for the Hoinvilles, alternating between winters in Chicago and summers at Hoinville Hills in Northern Wisconsin. During this time Norman attended and graduated from Coyne Electrical School in Chicago. He also met Mildred Emma Jensen.
Norman proposed to Mildred in the summer of 1941, only to have their marriage interrupted by the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Norman served with the U.S. Army in the South Pacific during World War II, including at Guadalcanal, Fiji Islands and New Caledonia. He eventually suffered from malaria and was stationed stateside for the duration of the war. Norman and Mildred were married in her home town of Blue Island, Illinois on April 29, 1944. With a good recommendation from Charles Hoinville, Norman was hired as an electrician with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, working on the large diesel locomotives. Norman and Mildred lived in an apartment in Chicago for a few years, then bought a home in the suburb of Hazel Crest.
Four children were born to Norman and Mildred Norman, three in Illinois and one later in Arizona.
In late 1959, at the urging of his sister Dorothy who said that the growing community of Sedona, Arizona, was in need of a good electrician, Norman loaded up his family and moved to Sedona. He established his own electrical contracting and appliance repair business and soon became well known and well respected in the community.
Norman was an avid hunter and fisherman. The very best time of year for him was deer season, when he and his two sons, and a few close friends would spend a few weeks in the remote Arizona Strip. He was also a founding member of the Sedona Elks Lodge and served a term as Exalted Ruler. In 1979 he was voted Elk of the Year.
Norman died on February 20, 2002. His body was cremated and his ashes, along with the ashes of his wife Mildred, were scattered at a private location on Schnebly Hill, near Sedona.
Norman Axtell Norman, born April 18, 1913, in Kirbyville, Texas, was the last of seven children born to William Henry Norman and Ollie (Axtell) Norman.
On July 29, 1913, when Norman was only 3 months old, his oldest sister, Sarah Pearl Norman, died by drowning along with two of her friends in Cow Creek near Kirbyville. Norman's parents were devastated by Pearl's death. They left Kirbyville and eventually returned to their original home town of Flagstaff, Arizona. Sometime after returning to Flagstaff, Norman's parents separated; His mother stayed in Flagstaff with the children and his father moved to Madera, Mexico, where he went to work as a Saw Filer for an English Lumber Company.
Norman grew up in and around Flagstaff, graduating from Flagstaff High School in 1931. Shortly after graduation, Norman left his mother and moved to Chicago, Illinois, to live and work under the tutelage of Mr. & Mrs. Charles Hoinville. His mother died a few months later in Winona, Arizona. For the next 10 years Norman lived and worked for the Hoinvilles, alternating between winters in Chicago and summers at Hoinville Hills in Northern Wisconsin. During this time Norman attended and graduated from Coyne Electrical School in Chicago. He also met Mildred Emma Jensen.
Norman proposed to Mildred in the summer of 1941, only to have their marriage interrupted by the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Norman served with the U.S. Army in the South Pacific during World War II, including at Guadalcanal, Fiji Islands and New Caledonia. He eventually suffered from malaria and was stationed stateside for the duration of the war. Norman and Mildred were married in her home town of Blue Island, Illinois on April 29, 1944. With a good recommendation from Charles Hoinville, Norman was hired as an electrician with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, working on the large diesel locomotives. Norman and Mildred lived in an apartment in Chicago for a few years, then bought a home in the suburb of Hazel Crest.
Four children were born to Norman and Mildred Norman, three in Illinois and one later in Arizona.
In late 1959, at the urging of his sister Dorothy who said that the growing community of Sedona, Arizona, was in need of a good electrician, Norman loaded up his family and moved to Sedona. He established his own electrical contracting and appliance repair business and soon became well known and well respected in the community.
Norman was an avid hunter and fisherman. The very best time of year for him was deer season, when he and his two sons, and a few close friends would spend a few weeks in the remote Arizona Strip. He was also a founding member of the Sedona Elks Lodge and served a term as Exalted Ruler. In 1979 he was voted Elk of the Year.
Norman died on February 20, 2002. His body was cremated and his ashes, along with the ashes of his wife Mildred, were scattered at a private location on Schnebly Hill, near Sedona.
On July 29, 1913, when Norman was only 3 months old, his oldest sister, Sarah Pearl Norman, died by drowning along with two of her friends in Cow Creek near Kirbyville. Norman's parents were devastated by Pearl's death. They left Kirbyville and eventually returned to their original home town of Flagstaff, Arizona. Sometime after returning to Flagstaff, Norman's parents separated; His mother stayed in Flagstaff with the children and his father moved to Madera, Mexico, where he went to work as a Saw Filer for an English Lumber Company.
Norman grew up in and around Flagstaff, graduating from Flagstaff High School in 1931. Shortly after graduation, Norman left his mother and moved to Chicago, Illinois, to live and work under the tutelage of Mr. & Mrs. Charles Hoinville. His mother died a few months later in Winona, Arizona. For the next 10 years Norman lived and worked for the Hoinvilles, alternating between winters in Chicago and summers at Hoinville Hills in Northern Wisconsin. During this time Norman attended and graduated from Coyne Electrical School in Chicago. He also met Mildred Emma Jensen.
Norman proposed to Mildred in the summer of 1941, only to have their marriage interrupted by the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Norman served with the U.S. Army in the South Pacific during World War II, including at Guadalcanal, Fiji Islands and New Caledonia. He eventually suffered from malaria and was stationed stateside for the duration of the war. Norman and Mildred were married in her home town of Blue Island, Illinois on April 29, 1944. With a good recommendation from Charles Hoinville, Norman was hired as an electrician with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, working on the large diesel locomotives. Norman and Mildred lived in an apartment in Chicago for a few years, then bought a home in the suburb of Hazel Crest.
Four children were born to Norman and Mildred Norman, three in Illinois and one later in Arizona.
In late 1959, at the urging of his sister Dorothy who said that the growing community of Sedona, Arizona, was in need of a good electrician, Norman loaded up his family and moved to Sedona. He established his own electrical contracting and appliance repair business and soon became well known and well respected in the community.
Norman was an avid hunter and fisherman. The very best time of year for him was deer season, when he and his two sons, and a few close friends would spend a few weeks in the remote Arizona Strip. He was also a founding member of the Sedona Elks Lodge and served a term as Exalted Ruler. In 1979 he was voted Elk of the Year.
Norman died on February 20, 2002. His body was cremated and his ashes, along with the ashes of his wife Mildred, were scattered at a private location on Schnebly Hill, near Sedona.
