Wesley James Norris

Wesley James (W.J) Norris, 63, passed away August 25, 2018. He was a honorable son, a protective brother, a loving husband, a funny and fun-loving father, a terrific grandfather, an unforgettable friend and a regular guy.

Wes was born on February 6, 1955 in Pierre, South Dakota to Duane Victor (D.V. ""Bud"") and Wilma Mae Norris. He was the second of three children for the Norris family. In June of 1970, the Norris family planted their roots in the town of Bozeman, Montana. It was while at Bozeman Senior High, Wes flourished as a productive and popular student. He was president of the Key Club, an athlete both running track and playing varsity football and a drummer in a band he and his friends formed, playing the popular hits of the day, which included the very challenging drum solo stylings of ""In a Gadda Da Vida"" by Iron Butterfly. He also met a lovely sophomore named Julie Garcia.

After graduating high school in 1973, Wes held many different jobs while attending a couple of semesters at Montana State University. His favorite among the jobs was being a volunteer fireman with the Bozeman Fire Department. On December 24, 1974, Wes and Julie were married and their daughter Yalonda was born the following year in 1975. By 1976, the young family relocated from Bozeman to Billings, Montana when Wes accepted a job with the O'Donnell Fire Service. He then worked for 10 years as a salesman and then a district manager for Clover Club Potato Chips. In 1981, their son Chad was born and by 1986, Wes accepted an opportunity to be an independent distributor for Clover Club in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he lived until his passing.

More than what he did for a living or what titles he held, Wes was a consummate entertainer who loved to make people laugh. He thoroughly enjoyed co-hosting frequent get togethers with Julie and could be found in front of his Weber grill, spatula in one hand, a beer in the other. He enjoyed watching NASCAR before it was a ""thing"" with his favorite driver being Harry Gant in the Skoal car, he liked watching MASH during both the original run and the reruns, he became a Seattle Seahawks fan the moment they joined the NFL in 1976, and he liked watching the History Channel whenever there was a special about World War II, Pearl Harbor, submarines or the Titanic. And no one could do air drums the way he did, especially to a family favorite: ""In the Air Tonight"" by Phil Collins. Even when he had lost mobility in his left hand, he could manage a single hand drum solo. But mostly, he loved responding to life with a series of ""Wesisms"" that included imaginative new ways to hear a run of the mill expletive. In that regard, anyone who knew Wes knew where they stood with him. He could make everyone around him smile, laugh and never forget the things he said. Wes left an indelible impression on anyone he ever met.

Wes is preceded in death by his daughter Janessa and his son Gabriel, his father D.V. ""Bud"" Norris, his mother-in-law Mary Garcia, his father-in-law George Garcia. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Julie; his two children, Yalonda Dekle (Jeff) of Las Vegas and Chad Norris (Rachael) of Las Vegas; his two grandchildren, Julian and Zoey Dekle; his brother-in-law Greg Garcia of Las Vegas, Nevada; his sister-in-law Maria Garcia of Las Vegas, Nevada; his niece Elecia Garcia and his two great-grandnieces Sofia and Genevieve Lara of Las Vegas, Nevada; his sister Vickie Norris of Sun City, Arizona; his brother Kevin Norris (Jeri) of Bozeman, Montana; his nephew Tyler (Adriana) Norris and his two great-grandnieces Kaiya and Kenna Norris of Bozeman, Montana; and his mother Wilma Norris of Sun City, Arizona.

The family is planning a future memorial around his birthday in February 2019. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The American Heart Association in his name (Wes or W.J. Norris).