Mostly Cloudy, 24° F
(Feb. 16, 1929 - March 21, 2014)
Norman Lee Shorb died Friday, March 21, 2014, at The Billings Clinic in Billings. He was 85.
Norm was born on Feb. 16, 1929, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota to Madge Cain and Glen Shorb. He was joined in the next few years by a sister, Donna, and by two brothers, Dallas and Clifford. The Shorb family lived in a sod house, near where father Glen farmed the rich soil along Corn Creek. The children helped raise a lush garden that produced so many juicy watermelons the family invited neighbors to a picnic every fall to celebrate the abundant harvest.
Norm attended his first year of high school at Kadoka, S.D., and soon after the family moved to a ranch and dairy they had acquired near Hermosa, S.D. Norm graduated from Rapid City High School and then attended and graduated from the South Dakota School of Mines.
He married Beverly Ann Jones, who was from another farm family near Rapid City, in 1951. They had three children, Terry, Jim and Ellen.
For a short time, Norm worked for a seismograph crew in eastern Montana and then was then hired by Montana-Dakota Utilities company and moved his young family to Billings in 1957. He was very successful in that job and rose to the position of division engineer for M.D.U.
Following a divorce, Norm married Irene Fritzler, another M.D.U. employee.
Norm was a member of the Masonic Lodge and the Al Bedoo Shrine Temple, where he served for years in the clown unit, entertaining people of all ages. He also was a member of Toastmasters for years. Friends and family who visited his home were often treated to thick, juicy steaks cooked to perfect order on Norm’s gas grill.
Norm was preceded in death by his parents, Glen and Madge Shorb; one brother, Dallas; and his second wife, Irene.
He is survived by his sister, Donna Starr; brother Clifford (Mary) Shorb; sister-in-law Joanne (Dallas) Shorb; his three children, Terry (Eve), Jim (Wanda) and Ellen (Steve) Bales; six grandchildren, Josh (Trish) Shorb, Justin Shorb, Danny (Tara) Shorb, Tanya (Corey) McGregor, Shelley (Josh) Robinson and Kassie Bales; and five great-grand-children, Ashlyn, Taryn, Turner, Albany and Tenley.
Smith Funeral Chapels is in charge of arrangements and a memorial service is scheduled for a summer celebration of Norm’s life, the third week in July at Smith’s West Chapel, 304 34th St. W., in Billings. The time will be announced at a later date. Interment of the urn will follow at Terrace Gardens Cemetery. A reception will follow.
