In Memory of David I. Norman
1940 - 2008
Dave Norman, Professor of Geochemistry, passed away due to health reasons on Monday, May 5, 2008, while on a field trip to Ghana with five EES graduate students. Dave had been with the department for over 30 years.
David I. Norman, 67, passed away on Monday, May 5, 2008 in Ghana, Africa. He was born June 8, 1940 in Willmar, Minnesota, to Lester D. and Dorothy F. (Kelly) Norman. David graduated from Willmar High School in 1958 and got a Bachelors Degree in Physics from the University of Minnesota. He served in the Peace Corps from 1966 to 1968. David received his PhD in Geology from the University of Minnesota in 1976. He married Mary A. Fishburn in 1976 and they spent 1976 - 1978 in Norway before settling down in Socorro, New Mexico, where he was a professor at New Mexico Tech from 1978 until the present. He was a member of the San Miguel Catholic Church and a working member of several scientific associations. David is survived by his wife of 32 years, Mary, of their home in Socorro; son, Paul Norman of Socorro; daughters: Kirsten Norman of Albuquerque, NM and Anna Norman of Iowa City, IA; sisters: Mary Wilkowske and husband, Doug, of Willmar, MN; Barbara Colburn and husband, Stan, of Andover MN; and Patty Radabaugh and husband, John, of Willmar, MN; an aunt, Helen McNab of Oregon. He will be missed dearly by his family, students, colleagues and friends. A Visitation will be held on Sunday, May 18, 2008 at Steadman-Hall Funeral Home from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. A Rosary will be recited on Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at the San Miguel Catholic Church in Socorro. Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, May 19, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. at San Miguel with Father Andy Pavlak as Celebrant. Pallbearers are Stanly Colburn, Patrick Radabaugh, David Radabaugh, Christopher Wilkowoske, and Frederick Partey. Arrangements are under the care of Steadman-Hall Funeral Home, 309 Garfield, Socorro, NM. 575-835-1530.
Andy Campbell's Tribute |
Fred Partey's Tribute |
Dave Norman's "Intro to Geology" was a required class for my Environmental Science/Biology B.S. degree in 1996 -- after the first class, I was hooked, went to the admin office, and signed up for a double major.
Little did I know that Dave's class changed my career path that ended with an M.S. in geology in 2001.
Thank you, Dave!
Gina Rone
chinle65@yahoo.com
While I am admittingly terrible on 'keeping in-touch', I feel compelled to write upon hearing of Dave's passing. My graduate experience at Tech, working with Dave, and especially participating in some of his wild and wooly road-trips is not something easily forgotten and in-fact, are cherishable memories. Even all those late nights crushing quartz to release the gas from those tiny bubbles and trying to reduce the data into something meaningful are not easily forgotten -- and upon reflection a vital part of my Tech experience. And Dave was always there, late into the night. His dedication, creative approaches, and zest for life and travel are lasting memories. Influential perhaps, as I, too, have spent some time working and living in Ghana. Please pass along my condolences -- as one of Dave's students ('93) -- to the Department and his beloved.
With Best Regards,
Randy
Randall K. Ruff
Executive Vice President Exploration, Carpathian Gold Inc.
Romania
e-mail: rruff at samax.ro
Dave was on my thesis committee and I took several classes from him when I was at Tech. I am very sorry to hear about Dave.
Regards. Larry
Larry G. Eaton RG, LHG
Senior Hydrogeologist
GSI Water Solutions, Inc.
Dave was my MS advisor and I really enjoyed a number of field trips with him to half the world. I talked with Mary last night and we are trying to plan a get-together @ the coffeehouse to remember him.
Patty Frisch
plfrisch@nmt.edu
Ed. Note: Patty has some nice pictures she took during the Spring 2004 Trip to Ghana and an interesting presentation she put together about gold and diamond mining in Ghana.
Dave Norman was one of the most unique professors I had during my time at NMIMT. Those shirts from Ghana were ubiquitous and you could tell Dr. Norman from across campus during spring and summer by them. He was a hard man to track down when you were an undergrad, but once you found him, he'd spend time talking to you, often not about what you'd come to see him about, but that was handled in the last ten minutes...before he had to rush away to some research.
He really was bigger than life, opening doors for so many of my fellow students, showing them what geology was doing in places other than the United States. Our field trips around New Mexico were full of anecdotes and observations that tied Ghana to what we saw. I'll miss his enthusiasm and his love for geochemistry and Ghana. He was a such an inimitable addition to my college education, and I'm certain, to so many others' lives.
Sandra Repar
NMIMT Class of 2001
Please pass along my deepest sympathies to Dr. Norman's family. It is a sad time for NMT to lose such a valuable person.
John R. Boulanger
MS Hydrology 2004
I was shocked and saddened to hear of Dave's death. Here are a few words in his memory:
I first met Dave Norman on a cold gray winter morning in 1981. I had driven straight through to Socorro from Southern California. I was going to do a Masters degree with him, something about a new method of mineral exploration based on volatiles trapped in alteration minerals. I found his office in the basement of the old Eaton Hall. He was there wearing one of his big striped sweaters. He showed me the gas extraction lab upstairs - glass vacuum lines and gauges, an old oil diffusion pump, and the little quadrupole mass spec. My training was in geology, I had never done any laboratory work. I started the next day and have spent the last 27 years with similar equipment around the world analyzing minerals for their chemical and isotopic compositions. It would be an understatement to say that working with Dave changed the course of my life.
Some memories. Driving back from Belen with a ton of bricks for his house in my ½ ton pickup. Freezing while we tried to sleep in the back of that same pickup in a campground outside Price, Utah. Climbing up a ladder that seemed to go on forever in a mineshaft on one of his fieldtrips to Creede, Colorado. Learning about isotope mass balance in his Ore Genesis class.
Dave was a big man with an even bigger heart. He put his ideas and ideals into action. His recent work on a simple and effective method for remediation of arsenic contaminated water was a perfect example. I will not forget his vision and optimism.
Mike Palin (MS '84)
Department of Geology
University of Otago
Dave opened up the world of geology for me, for which I am forever thankful. I love what I learned from him in the intro class I took for fun and contine to read and learn about geology in all the places I go. It gave me a foundation to understand geology enough to be able to learn more and be able to teach it to the students and teachers I take abroad. When we travel, we study the socio-economic and cultural activities of very rural areas of developing countries, and geology plays a very imprtant role in framing the evolution of those activities. It's fun to open up that piece of understanding for students and teachers when we study abroad in the wonderful places I've been able to take teachers and students.
Most importantly he opened up to me the world. I had never travelled internationally, other than quick trips to Canada and Mexico. I was a little bit afraid, worried, and would have NEVER done it on my own. I learned that I loved taking groups abroad, I came to love Ghana, and it all started with Dave's guidance. It is a part of me that is now integrated into my life and forever will be. My passion in life now is taking teachers and students to wonderfully wild places on Earth and it all started in 1999 with that teacher trip to Ghana with Dave.
Well, I didn't mean to go on and on, I've just been trying all week to verbalize a thank you to you, and try to work through this intense sadness and loss I feel. The words haven't been flowing very well, so I apologize for that.
Vannetta R. Perry, Ed.D.
International Education Center of Excellence
I was very sad to see that Dave had passed away. Even though we did not have much contact the last few years, he has always been on my mind. He was a good mentor for me and I am sure for many of his students. I would like to write more but it is hard to get the words on the computer yet.
Ingar Walder, Ph.D.
Director R&D
Kjeoy Research & Education Center
Norway
I am sorry to hear of Dr. Norman's passing. He was a great professor, a great lecturer, and I enjoyed taking his classes. I was fortunate to have gone on many of his field trips (five international, and six in NM). He knew the best way for his students to learn geology was to show it to them in the field. A lot of present and future geology students will never know what they are missing. I know that I shall miss him. Pictures from field trips.
Josh Crook
B.S. Geology (2001)
M.S. Mineral Engineering (2008)
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Last Updated: May 28, 2008 by Webmaster |