Norman Parry, "A Senior Member of the Older Youth Group", as he jokingly called himself, passed away peacefully at his home on March 22, 2022 at the age of 100. Although he always said "Whatever you do kid, don't get old", he went against his own sage advice and lived long enough to become a centenarian, which the family suspects was a personal goal of his.

Norman Winther Parry was born on September 29 ^th , 1921 to George "Pappy" and Norma Parry in St. Louis, Missouri.  He was the younger of he and his brother, George Jr.  He grew up during the Great Depression when times were hard and children worked to help their families. He had many miscellaneous jobs as a boy, including delivering newspapers and working as a golf caddy, which fostered his life-long love of golf.  During Prohibition, to make extra money, his father, Pappy, made moonshine. His brother, George, filled the bottles and Norman capped the bottles.  Norman would later say, "lack of money is a great teacher".

After graduation, he went to work for Western Electric, installing telephone power plants in Illinois and Wisconsin before enlisting in the Army Signal Corps during WWII in 1942.  While in the service, he was sent to London, and eventually into France where he narrowly missed the Battle of the Bulge after being shipped out due to recurring double pneumonia.  He was transferred back to England and then to the states to recuperate and was discharged in November of 1945 with the instructions to hold off on going back to work for six months until he was fully recovered.  Taking this to heart, he was back to work for Western Electric in Peoria, Illinois one week later and after a couple of transfers, ended up in Superior, Wisconsin.

This is where Norman met Shirley, who would become the love of his life.  He was drawn to her energetic and vivacious personality and genuine love for life.  They loved to dance together.  They became engaged in September of 1947 and were married on July 17, 1948 in Superior.  After several more transfers and an ultimatum from the company, Norman left Western Electric and went to work for Illinois Bell in Peoria, Illinois, as a switchman and night foreman, where he continued to work for over 30 years until retirement in 1982.  During this time, Norman and Shirley had three children, Richard, Steven and Donna. He loved his children and always regretted not having more time with them, as he worked evening hours to provide for his family. However, they do recall some fun family times, such as traveling to visit relatives and attending dinner theaters, which Norm and Shirley loved.  Tragically, in 1980, Shirley became ill and it was discovered that she had cancer.  She died just six short weeks after the diagnosis.  Norman would never fully recover from her loss and often commented on how she was irreplaceable.  They were married for 32 wonderful years.

After his retirement in 1982, Norman and his father, Pappy, moved to Sterling, CO, to be near his son Steve and daughter Donna. He was the sole caregiver for Pappy for seven years, until he passed in 1989.  Norman kept busy with various social events, including golfing at Riverside Golf Course, where he forged a friendship with owners Val and Melody Heim.  He also loved to attend dances at the Elks Club and was a very good dancer, which all of the local ladies loved.  He also enjoyed buying cars and tinkering on them to fix them up and drive them around before reselling them.  He would often drive out to the farm (Steve and Joanne's place) to check up on the day's happenings. In addition, about once a year, Norman took the long road trip back to Illinois to visit his son Rick and family, as well as many friends.

He was very generous with his time and was very handy at fixing radios and appliances and doing electrical wiring.  He would jokingly say, "If all else fails, read the directions".  He kept his amazing sense of humor until the very end.  At the age of 98, as he was becoming a bit less motivated, he said, "my favorite new word is mañana".

Norman was preceded in death by his wife Shirley, parents George and Norma, and brother George Jr. He is survived by his sons Richard Parry and Steven (Joanne) Parry, daughter Donna (Dennis) Marx, grandchildren David (Rachel) Parry and daughter Emma; Melissa Wildfong and children Tanner and Laurel; Kelli (Tyrun) Huwa and children Ryker, Tegan, Hadley, Maverick, Kendry, and Brynn; Ryan (Emily) Parry, and children Ransom and Paige; Traci (Josh) Parry Scheetz; Stephanie Marx.

Norman was one of the last of a golden generation.  He was a real gentleman, was devoted to family and was never known to say a bad word or raise his voice.  He told the family that when he was 15, he saw a sign on a bus with a quote by Stephen Grellet that said, "I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again". He took this to heart and lived by it as much as possible. We will all miss his sweet spirit and humor.

A memorial service will be held at 11:30 a.m., Friday, March 25 at Sky Ranch Golf and Grill, 17408 Highway 14, Sterling.  Lunch will be served following the service.