Earl passed away on Sunday, January 12, 2020 at the home of his daughter and son-in-law, with his loved ones surrounding him. He was 90½ years old at the time of his passing. He was borne on July 9, 1929 in Big Cane, Louisiana. He is preceded in death by his parents, father, Earl Joseph Norris, mother, Lottie Williams Norris; brothers, Elmer (Dick) Norris, Theodore (Ted) Norris; brother-in-law, Jay Barr and sister-in-law, Mary Norris.
Earl is survived by his wife, Shirley Ann Norris of 47 wonderful years; daughter, Mary Louise Norris Hart, husband, Rick Lee Hart; granddaughter, Jennifer Ann Hart Salter, husband, Brian Salter; grandson, Ryan Lee Hart; great grandson, Gavin Jude Salter, great granddaughters, Remi Louise Hart and Laila Renae Hart. He is survived by a brother, William (Bill) Clopton, wife, Brenda Clopton; sister, Patricia (Pat) Barr; and sister-in-law, Della Norris. Numerous nieces and nephews.
Earl moved from Louisiana to Houston after he graduated from Morrow High School and started working at the Houston Chronicle. He was drafted into the Army and served as a tank commander while he was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia during the Korean War (1951-1953). After he was discharged from the Army, he came back to Houston to continuing working at the Houston Chronicle and the Houston Post. Then in 1992, after working 44½ years at the Houston Chronicle he retired. He said he wanted to “hold the couch down” and he did! However, he got restless and went back to work in 2000 for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. In 2011 when he was 82 years old, he thought that this “Old Man” had had enough and retired AGAIN!
Earl didn’t have hobbies unless you can count reading his beautiful Bible every day. He was rebaptized in 1976; and at that time, he began reading the entire Bible yearly until he got sick in 2019. Also being a newspaper man, he loved reading the newspaper every day from cover to cover. He stopped that in 2019. He also loved watching sports on TV!
Earl loved his Lord and his family with all his heart. He was a southern gentleman all the way to the end. He had the prettiest blue eyes and a beautiful smile for everyone that greeted him. Our daughter Mary paid a little tribute on Facebook to her sweet daddy. It’s beautiful and I encourage everyone to read it.
At some point it was necessary to put him with hospice care and for us to live with our sweet daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Rick Hart. We received excellent and compassionate care from Vantage Hospice. Our nurse, Chantelle Shaffer, always received a big smile from him every week up until his passing. We had an angel, Monica Turner-Powell, who came by three times a week to care for him and called him “Sunshine”. We love and appreciate the outstanding care provided by these two ladies and will never forget the love they showed him.
Pallbearers: Rick Hart, Ryan Hart, Brian Salter, David Hargrave, Rob Zehentner, Steve King
Honorary Pallbearers: Bill Clopton, Gavin Salter
In Lieu of Flowers please feel free to donate to Project Joy & Hope, 3207 Tulip Street, Pasadena, TX 77504 and/or Vantage Hospice, 21720 Kingsland Blvd., Katy, TX 77450.
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