Obituary: Norman, Robert James
“I have been blessed to watch my children excel in so many ways.
My children and my wife have been my guiding light and my inspiration.
I will always love you.”
Dad Bob was born in Spokane, WA, on February 28th, 1955 to Max and Norma Norman.
He was the youngest of three boys.
Brothers Terry and Michael, along with Bob, grew up in the Shadle Park area playing sports and making lifelong friends.
Bob attended Ridgeview Elementary, Salk Junior High, and graduated from Shadle Park High School in 1973.
He was also a member of Boy Scout Troop 115 and earned the highest award of Eagle Scout in 1973, an award achieved by only 4% of all Scouts.
Bob began working right out of high school for a concrete precast company.
He helped make many of the concrete ornamental pieces for the Expo 74 World’s Fair.
Many of these pieces can still be seen throughout downtown Spokane today.
Over the next few years, Bob became interested in aviation by taking flying lessons.
As it turned out, he would spend his professional career as an Air Traffic Controller with the Federal Aviation Administration, a career that began in Memphis, TN.
Other career stops included Seattle, WA, Moses Lake, WA, and eventually back to Spokane.
Bob had a long and rewarding air traffic career.
His career positions included Staff Specialist, Operations Supervisor, Facility Manager, and Operations Manager.
Bob retired in 2008 from the FAA, but continued his career as an air traffic instructor until 2012.
Bob was a member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Spokane, and met his future wife, Linda, through a mutual friend of this organization.
He and Linda later got married on the 4th of July, 1997.
They spent the next few years volunteering and coaching softball and soccer in Moses Lake, Spokane, and Cheney WA.
Bob has called Cheney home since 2005 where his two youngest children, Makenzie and Matthew, attend Cheney High and Cheney Middle School.
Bob’s oldest daughter Jenny, who resides in Spokane, is married to Jeremy and they have a wonderful son, Caleb.
Now, the Lord has called Bob to His Kingdom though we are not ready for him to go, we will cherish our memories until the day we may join him.
Bob passed away March 26th, 2015 after a long battle with cancer.
Services will be at Fairmount Memorial Park in Spokane on Thursday, April 2nd, at 10:00 a.m. in the Mausoleum.
Online guestbook at cheneyfuneral.com.
CHENEY FUNERAL CHAPEL, Cheney, WA