Rodney L. Norville

Rodney Lon Norville, 76, of Houston, TX, passed away on June 21, 2024. He was born at Letterman General Hospital on the Presidio Army base in San Francisco, CA on June 25, 1947 to his parents Lily Marie and Cecil Norville. He lived in Japan as a young child and graduated from MacArthur High School in San Antonio, TX in 1965. Rod moved to Houston to attend Rice University where he received his BA in Economics and Business Administration in 1969 and his BS in Accounting in 1970. Rod then attended The University of Houston Law Center and received his Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) in 1978. While working on his law degree he also attended Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business, receiving his Master of Accountancy in 1975. While doing all of this, Rod met the love of his life, Vicki Boyd, at First Baptist Church Houston. They married on July 8, 1972, had their first daughter, Jenifer, in 1974 and their second daughter, Lara, in 1975. Later, after having a heart attack and a triple bypass in 1999, Rod knew he had a calling to attend seminary. With a new appreciation for life, Rod went on to graduate Magna Cum Laude from Dallas Theological Seminary with a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies in 2003. Following that, he graduated Cum Laude with a Master of Theology in 2010. Rod also received acceptance into the Doctorate program at Dallas Theological Seminary. He was an eternal student, having a great love for learning throughout his life.

Rod was a Certified Public Accountant/Certified in Financial Forensics from 1971 until present and a Board Certified Tax Attorney from 1978 until present. He practiced before the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition, he was an Assistant Professor of Accounting at Texas Southern University, Jesse H. Jones School of Business, from 1972-1980. From 1971-1982, Rod served as a Reserve Commissioned Officer of the US Army and was honorably discharged as Captain of Infantry. In 2002, he became a licensed pastor, and Lindale Baptist Church ordained him as a Minister of the Gospel in 2004. Furthermore, he helped form Iglesia Bautista Lindale as a bilingual mission of the church with a separate bilingual pastor. Rod took pride in the church being bilingual, multicultural and multiracial.

Rod had a passion for the Lord, his family, his pets, and his Hawaiian shirts that he had grown so fond of wearing. Rod had the uncanny knack to talk your ear off all the while leaving nuggets of profound wisdom and knowledge – learning a new vocabulary word was not uncommon in these conversations. He also had a boundless love for fast cars, keeping stacks of car magazines around the house. His 1979 Trans Am, in particular, held a special place in his heart. He even attempted to educate his girls on the art of driving stick shift and took his daughter Jenifer to the car show every year. In his later years, Rod enjoyed being a “test dummy”, as he called it, for his daughter Lara while she was in nursing school. He even let her practice inserting IV catheters on him and would jokingly protest, screaming “OWW” when it hadn’t hurt at all (he was king of Dad jokes). Rod wasn’t the handiest of people, but when he learned how to install a ceiling fan, he put one up in every room of the house, including the entry hall. That’s how he was - all in, even on the most minute of tasks. It made him one of the most generous, caring, compassionate, dedicated, driven and persistent people. He truly was the best of us - our rock.

He is preceded in death by his parents Lily Marie and Cecil Norville as well as his mother and father-in-law Jeanette and William Ervie Boyd, Sr. and his brother-in-law William Ervie Boyd, Jr.

Rod leaves behind his wife of almost 52 years, Vicki Norville, and daughters Jenifer Norville and Lara Norville. His brother, Don Norville, and his wife, Betty. Niece Carrie Lopez and her husband Nick and two children. Sister and brother-in-law Bobbi and Stan Mauldin and his nephews Matthew Mauldin and Christopher Mauldin. Rod also leaves behind his beloved furry friends Lily (his baby), Cassie, Walker and Wes as well as his backyard kitties Mama Cat, Patches, Hazel, Diablo, Binx, Allie, Bella, and Blaze. You get the picture – he was a lover of animals.

The Norville family would like to extend special thanks to Dr. Robert Hust, his cardiologist who has been caring for Rod’s heart for over 25 years as well as his entire team of doctors and nurses at Houston Methodist Hospital TMC.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to any animal rescue facility of your choice.