Don was the most awesome man I ever knew. My respect and love for him is immeasurable. Everyone who knew him knows how selfless he was and how he lived all aspects of life with honesty, integrity and consideration for others. These qualities, along with his intelligence, created his great success as a person in life. I am blessed to have had him in my life as the best partner anyone could want. And now some statistics…
Don Norris, 72, passed away due to complications of his cancer on January 6th at Mercy Hospital with his wife, Trudy Norris, by his side.
Don grew up in North City and graduated from Central High School. As one would expect, Don had several jobs before even graduating high school and thereafter, working at Kroger and even Velvet Freeze as a child. After receiving his Bachelor’s degree from Southeast Missouri State University and serving in the National Guard from 1969 – 1975 he began his insurance career working for Travelers Insurance. He later worked at Commercial Union Insurance Company for many years where he met and began a long and wonderful friendship with his future wife, Trudy.
In 1985 he began working for friend and mentor C. Peyton Daniel and The Daniel and Henry Company. After Peyton’s death Don became his own individual producer unit and flourished with great success. Many business associates and longtime clients today would proclaim their lives and/or businesses are in a better place today due to the advice, guidance, simple example, or inspiration from Don. He retired as Senior Vice President in 2019 after countless contributions.
He loved traveling, especially cruises. He and Trudy were blessed to experience so many trips together. At home he spent countless hours on his property building and maintaining his natural rock landscaping creations. He loved his family, his friends, and appreciated everything about life.
Don is survived by his wife, Trudy Norris (Carter), his brother James Norris and wife Sue Norris, sister-in-law Sheila Arth and her husband Greg Arth. He was a loving father and grandfather to his daughter Kristen Amrein and her sons, Ben, Justin, and Zachary; Melanie Christoff, her husband Andrew, their children Daphne and Sawyer; Michael Norris and his wife Kate, their children Sophia and Brad; Lindsey Moore and her husband Kevin, their children Maxwell and Evie. He was preceded in death by his mother, Elmyra Norris (Lorbert) and father, Calvin.
Immediate family private service January 11th with a Celebration of Life for all who would like to participate to be held in the spring or summer.
In lieu of flowers please make a donation to either Backstoppers or Mission Gate Prison Ministries.
https://missiongateministry.org
We are so sorry for your loss and send our deepest sympathy to all of your family! We knew Don as a good friend and a wonderful husband to Trudy. Our thoughts and prayers are with your family!
Trudy, so sorry to hear about Don’s passing. He was always so kind to me and I loved his sense of humor. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
My thoughts are with all of you !! Don will be greatly missed! Sending virtual hugs
So sorry to learn of Don’s passing. Don and I went to grade school together at Markus Lutheran school in North St. Louis. His family lived close to us and his brother Jim was good friends with my oldest brother Ron Rutledge and was even in his wedding. Don and I used to walk to school together and I will never forget the day we were running home and I tripped on the curb and hit a fire hydrant (we were in third grade). He helped me get home as I had a bad injury to my forehead. We left north St. Louis when I was in 8th grade and moved to Spanish Lake and lost touch. My deepest sympathy to everyone.
So sorry to hear about Don.
He was a wonderful person!
Janet and Kevin. Fitzgerald
Trudy I am so sorry for your loss I worked with Don many years at Daniel and Henry he was a great guy. He will be missed.
Elaine Cooper
So very sorry to hear about Don’s passing. He fought a strong fight and now has been made whole by the grace of God. He was always pleasant and had a smile on his face. It was a privilege to work with him. Prayers for you and the family.
I’m so sorry to hear of Don’s passing. Loved his sense of humor and appreciated his expertise. Your family is in my thoughts and prayers.
Trudy and Lindsay I am so sorry for your loss. Dons fight and attitude during his illness is an inspiration. I hope that sharing great memories will give you and your family some peace. Prayers and hugs for you and your gamily
Trudy, Lindsay and family,
My heart goes out to you during this time of great loss in your lives! Don was always a pleasant person and easy to work with. It is obvious that his customers thought very highly of him as well. Prayers for all as you heal!
So very sorry to hear of Don’s passing. Sending up prayers for you and your family for peace and comfort.
Trudy and Lindsey, I am so deeply sadden to learn of Don’s passing. My sincerest condolences to you and the rest of Don’s family. He was such a joy to work with, and I am glad I had the opportunity to know him.
Trudy and family, Don will be greatly missed by all that knew him. He was a great man and friend. He always had a smile on his face and twinkle in his eyes.
You are in our prayers and thoughts through this journey of remembering and healing.
Oh Trudy I’m so sorry. Don was such a wonderful person and mentor for me here at D&H. He had such an amazing personality here at work, and I can only imagine how much greater that personality was at home with his loved ones. My love and prayers for you and the entire family during this trying time.
My heartfelt sympathy to Don’s loved ones. I’ll definitely miss my buddy and our conversations.
Oh, Trudy, I have thought of you and Don so often since his retirement. I regret that I didn’t reach out. I wanted to, but life always seemed to get in the way. Having Don as our agent for many years was an answer to our prayers. He helped us both with our business and with our farm. He was more than our agent. He was our friend. He was one of my trusted mentors. I have great love and respect for Don, and for you, too, Trudy. Please know that you aren’t alone in your grief. My heart hurts with yours. Sending you lots of love.
Dear Trudy and family-I am so sorry for your loss. Don was someone who would always go above and beyond to help anyone. He had a quick wit and a kind heart. I will miss him! Please know my thoughts and prayers are with you.
Trudy, Lindsey and Family,
I am so sorry to hear of Don’s passing. May you find peace and comfort from the many memories you have.
I cannot express how sad I was to hear of Don’s passing. It’s hard to believe he’s gone but I’ll forever smile when I think of his “hey there, Sparky”. Here’s hoping you & all your family are able to find peace, comfort and happy memories during these hard days.
Trudy, We are all saddened by the loss of Don. I’m grateful for the many years we got to work together, through good times and otherwise. The love you both shared for each other was evident and I know you will miss him so much. My sincere sympathy to you and the family.
Trudd,
During my 31 years @ D&H, and the 4 years since retirement I have treasured my friendship with Don, and with you Trudy. I have a warm place in my heart for both of you, and laughter in my soul. Whenever I eat red beets, they remind me of eating lunch @ Hodaks with Don when he looked @ waitress, point at me, and said “My father here would like a side of red beets please”! Love to you and your family at this trying time.
I worked with Don over 20 yrs. until my retirement in 2018. I enjoyed our many conversations about the D&H happenings, our families, and life in general. We especially loved going to the Arena Bar & Grille for lunch . Lisa would always give us a hard time about something in her “nice way” of saying things. It was a lot of laughs.
I’ll miss the time and friendship that Don & I will not be able to share in our retirements.
Trudy — love to you and your family with my sincere condolences and prayers.
Trudy, what a beautiful life you and Don had together. He is gone physically, but he will live forever in the hearts and minds of you, your family, and every other person whose life he touched.
So sorry to hear of Don’s passing. We had many great conversations during my 34 years at Daniel and Henry. He was always upbeat and willing to offer suggestions with problems. He will be missed.