Hello Family and Friends,

Thank you to everyone who attended the memorial service yesterday for my Dad. It was a beautiful service and he would have felt honoured to have so many people from so many places there to celebrate his life. Thank you also for the many beautiful cards, words of comfort, and memorial donations to Prince of Peace in my Dad's name.

If you were not able to attend and would like to watch the service, you can find it here:  Memorial Service for Jim Norrbom

Also, for those of you who would like to read the eulogy I gave, I have included it below.

James Higgins Norrbom: A Life Well Lived
December 20, 1938 – January 2, 2023
Eulogy by Stacy Norrbom

I’ve never been one for goodbyes. From my earliest memories, my heart would break when I had to be separated from someone I had grown to love. I would cry thinking “Why does all this fun have to end? Why can’t we be like this forever?!” I felt this loss at the end of a play date, the end of a school year, the end of camp, the end of my college days, the end of a job - basically the end of anything good. Whether I enjoyed my time for a minute or a year, I longed to stay connected. I still do. It is unfathomable to me that I must now say a final goodbye to the man I was so blessed to call my Dad. I thought that maybe with all that energy, he'd live forever. I will forever be grateful for the opportunities, love, and support he gave me over the years. I weep at the ending of this beautiful journey, and ache to have him stay here with me for the rest of my days.

As I reflect on the relationships in my Dad’s life, I know you are longing for him to stay too. He was impossible to miss in any space he entered. He was gregarious, generous, outgoing - making connections everywhere he went. His voice was as big as his heart and he loved to talk with anyone who was lucky enough to listen. And he always had interesting stories to share about his life and travels.

As written by the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson; “The purpose of life is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate - to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

In his 84 years, Jim Norrbom accomplished all of these things. He was useful, honorable, and compassionate. The life he lived made a difference, and he has left a legacy of a life well-lived for all of us to remember, celebrate, and carry on. While it is so hard to say goodbye to him, this is a time for us to remember our fun and memorable moments with him, celebrate the light he brought into the world, and carry on the core values that James Higgins Norrbom exemplified in his life: Family, Service, Adventure, and Connection.

First and foremost, Dad loved his family

Dad gave all of his family his never-ending love and support, even though we didn’t always see eye to eye. He loved those in his family of origin, the Christensen family that he married into, the family he raised, and the family who married into his.

On October 24 of last year, Dad celebrated 58 years married to the love of his life. He has always said that marrying my Mom was the best decision he ever made. They were a beautiful example of a partnership, where each had gifts to share in the relationship - my Mom cherishing my Dad for his outgoing nature, his love of adventure, and his deep love for his family; and my Dad valuing my Mom for her nurturing and caring personality, her ability to lovingly and efficiently run the household, and to keep him in line. J

As a Dad to Michael and me, he always supported us and gave us every chance to thrive in life. He not only gave us the simple material pleasures of life and important educational opportunities, but also coached our sports teams, and participated in extra-curricular activities with us. Over my 12-year swimming career, Dad was the proudest - and definitely the loudest (!) - parent at every swim meet I ever attended. I have always been quite impressed that his voice stood out SO far above all the rest, that I could even hear him – and only him - from under the water!

He even supported me at work. A few years ago, I was leading an online orientation session for our new International students at the college I was working at. I hadn’t realized it, but I had accidentally sent him an invitation to attend this webinar. Just before the webinar started, I was surprised to hear, “Hi Stace!  It’s Dad!” He stayed for the entire session and sent me several messages of encouragement in the chat throughout the presentation!

When our family expanded with my marriage to Shelly, and Mike’s marriage to Dawn, Dad continued to show us his love and support. He felt blessed to welcome each of these beautiful and wonderful women into his life and family.

And he was over the moon when these unions gave him his grandchildren. They came late in his life, but Autumn, Summer, and Zach were the light of his life. He beamed whenever he talked about them, when he was cheering them on at their sporting and other events, or when he was simply being near them enjoying their company. We are so grateful Autumn, Summer, and Zach could know him, and that he could know and love them.

Dad lived in service to others

One of his proudest accomplishments was the time he served his country with the US Army Security Agency in Okinawa, alongside his brother Fred, from 1957-1959. He always reflected on this time with reverence and honour, and was full of vibrant energy whenever he had the chance to talk about his time there as a morse code operator.

He stayed actively connected to the military community throughout his life, travelling to annual military reunions throughout the country. He will be interred at Fort Snelling Memorial Cemetery where he will be remembered, alongside other veterans, for bravely serving the United States.

At home, he also had a servant’s heart. He was a wonderful partner to my mom, driving us kids to practices and activities, helping her take care of the house, and cooking meals together in their later years. He was always eager to offer help with any gathering my parents hosted, unload the car when I came to visit, and help Michael with whatever he needed. An act of service that is particularly memorable to me is when he would often – and I mean often – deliver snacks and drinks when I hosted my friends, and especially my boyfriends, at our home. It’s only now that I am a parent of two teenage girls that I understand the possibility that he had ulterior motives in visiting us so often! J

And Dad loved the church. For almost 50 years, he was deeply involved in servanthood here at Prince of Peace, where he volunteered as an usher, cooked hot dogs at the Mega Sale, cut the grass, and helped out at the Mission Outpost. He was also quick to join volunteer efforts such as travelling to Okoboji Lutheran Camp as part of the clean-up crew.

Dad embraced adventure

Through the years he has shared memories of his upbringing in South Minneapolis. He and his brothers would ride the streetcar for hours up and down the city streets, play baseball with the neighbourhood kids, and partake in other shenanigans with his siblings.

Some of you might not know that my Dad adventured greatly into the world of music and dance. He sang in the high school choir and, later, the Prince of Peace Church Choir. For many years he participated in roller skate dancing and performed in many competitions with his dance partner. He was so graceful and skilled - I loved to watch him skate. This pastime led him to meet my mom at The Roller Garden in St. Louis Park, and foray into the world of dancing with her. In their early years they went dancing at the Flame in Minneapolis, and Schlief’s Little City. Through the years, they danced at weddings and parties every chance they got. It was magical to watch them dance - and what a beautiful dance they had.

If you know anything about Jim Norrbom, it’s likely that he LOVED to travel. As a family, we were blessed to experience some of the world through amazing trips together - ranging from nearby places in the US and Canada to faraway places like Australia, Ecuador, and Peru. My favourite travel memories with my Dad include the trip he and my mom took to visit Shelly and me in Peru and Ecuador. They were such troopers hiking 4 hours through the Amazon Rainforest, and sipping pisco sours and playing cards in the rain while waiting for the train to Machu Picchu. He and my mom were also fortunate to have the means and health to adventure the world together - Branson was one of their favourite domestic travel spots, while they also ventured to exotic places like Portugal, Spain, Italy, China, Singapore, Thailand, Norway, and Sweden. 

Finally, Dad thrived at connecting with others

In fact, he lived for it.

He was connected to his family of origin. While his siblings and large extended family were scattered throughout the country, he kept track of where everybody lived, and stayed in touch with them. He created family trees to remember his ever-growing family, and made maps of where those who passed before him were buried so that he could always find them.

Some of my earliest Christmas memories were times we shared at my Dad’s parents’ house, where everyone would gather on Christmas Eve. Once my grandparents passed, we hosted Christmas Eve at our house for several years, and we continue to celebrate with my Dad’s youngest sister, Toots, and her husband, Bob, to this day.

He was connected the family he married into. The Christensens accepted and loved him like one of their own. They had monthly lunches, gathered as often as they could to share the joys and sorrows of life, and often travelled together to many domestic and international locales.

He was connected to the family he raised. Playing cards and games always brought our family together. Partly to do with his love of creating connection, and I think mainly to do with his love of competition and winning, he taught us to play tons of card and board games. For years we played Yahtzee or another game every night after supper, and every one of my holiday memories with my family involves playing cards and games. Even as recently as a few days before his death, when he was experiencing confusion and not actually able to interact very well, he asked me several times “Do you want to play cards? You can choose the game.” This is a favourite way I connected with my dad over the years, and a way I continue to connect with my own family and friends now whenever I can.

You may have heard it said that “Friends are family we choose.”  Throughout his life, Dad chose friends who became like family wherever he went, and cherished his connection to them.

He kept life-long friends like Jerry Boxsted and Bud Allen – known as the Three Muskateers, Sharon and Pat Haley, and Bob and Garnet Bina, until death parted them.

He made friends at Toro that he has kept in touch with since his retirement 22 years ago. Many have sent messages of condolence at his passing, and remember his bold and generous personality.

He was connected to his neighbours, often stopping to chat while he was out on a walk, or working in the yard. He helped them around the neighbourhood, and they returned the favours. Many of their neighbours became some of their best friends over the years.

He was connected to other veterans. My mom and dad travelled around the country to military reunions every year where he reminisced with others who served at various times with the US Army Security Agency. He collected pins at these reunions that he proudly displayed on his US Army Veterans hat.

This hat, which is displayed here near his memorial photo, was worn everywhere he went to show his connection to others who served their country as veterans. He would seek out people in military garb at shopping venues, restaurants, church, on the street, and on his travels, to thank them for their service and share this piece of his identity with them. 

Last, but definitely not least, he valued his connection to his church community SO much here at Prince of Peace. Many who knew him often joke that he would rather be four hours early than one minute late getting anywhere he wanted to be. In my teenage years, he would get upset with me every single Sunday morning because I took too long to get ready, and he wanted to be 30 minutes early to find and chat with his friends. He never wanted to miss a Sunday or an opportunity to be in community with his friends at church. He found his sense of belonging with all of you at Prince of Peace, and really took pride in being a member here.

As you can see from the gathering here today, as much as he loved his communities of family and friends, they also loved him. And our family is so thankful for all of you who came to celebrate my Dad’s life and to support those of us he left behind.

Jim Norrbom’s life was a life well-lived. Among all the many memories of Jim that you hold
dear, I pray you’ll keep him in your heart as a man who loved his family, served others, had a great sense of adventure, and held a deep regard for community, connection and belonging.