James Norris

1930 - 2021

James (Jim) Leo Norris

July 7, 1930 - June 3, 2021

James (Jim) Leo Norris passed away in Jackson, California on June 3, 2021 at the age of 90.

Jim was born on July 7, 1930 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Leo and Erma (Davis) Norris.

His family moved to El Segundo, California at the beginning of WWII and he attended El Segundo High School (ESHS) where he was 1948s Student Body President and a guard on the water polo team. In 1947, the ESHS team won the first CIF Championship and went on to the Pan American Games in Buenos Aires in 1948 and then the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where Jim served as team captain. ESHS was also where he met his high school sweetheart, Lynne (Oldmen), whom he married on April 26, 1951.

Jim was awarded a four-year Navy ROTC Scholarship to the University of Southern California, studying zoology. After graduating with his BS from USC, Jim spent three years as a gunnery officer and athletic director on the USS Los Angeles in the US Navy and served in the Korean War. Upon his retirement from service, Jim got his teaching credential at UCLA, taught at several South Bay high schools, and got his Masters in Counseling at CSU Los Angeles. He was a counselor at El Camino College in Torrance and a recurrent LA County Lifeguard; he resided in Manhattan Beach for 35 years.

His sense of adventure and wanderlust then led him to move to the Santa Ynez Valley (Santa Barbara County), where he lived for 35 years, becoming a renowned local historian and Westerners member with a specific interest in California Missions and the fur trade. He was an avid reader and researcher and he and Lynne published over 60 books under the publishing company, The Olive Press.

Jim moved in 2008 to the historic Gold Rush city of Jackson, CA, where he lived out his days reading, researching, teaching his family about local flora and fauna, and volunteering at the local archive and museum.

He was a lifelong learner and devoted friend to many. He and Lynne celebrated their 70-year wedding anniversary earlier this year.

Jim is survived by his four children, Michael (Kathy), John, Jeanie (John), and Jane Suzanne (Steve), his eight grandchildren, Alyssa, Aaron, Jason, Austin, Kenda, Paul, Andre, and Neal, and his siblings Richard, David, and Kitty. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Mary.

A celebration of life and final paddle toward the Green Flash will be held at a later date. Donations may be made to the Surfrider Foundation in James Norris name.