Norman, 93, of Marshall, Arkansas, died August 4, 2016, at home. He was born February 9, 1923, in Mussorie, Uttarakhand, India to missionary parents. Norman registered for the draft on June 30, 1942. During 1944-45 fire seasons he served as one of the Civilian Public Service smokejumpers at McCall where he made two fire jumps in 1944 and eight in the busy 1945 season.

Norman attended the University of Kentucky in Lexington where he was a distance runner on the U of Kentucky track team's successful 1949 season. He married in 1949. Norman held a master's degree in Agronomy and was an accomplished collector of palms, rare tropical plants, and an avid gardener.