Who Was James?
Written by Rosemary Norris, sister
James was a beloved young man who
in one way or another touched the lives of everyone he met. I’ve had
many conversations about Jimmy over the years and people always say the
same thing: he was unforgettable. After a story ran in the local
newspaper about the identification of his remains I received numerous
calls from people who just wanted to sh
are a story with me about something they experienced with him. It
surprised me that they remembered things in such detail.
James had a charisma about him, a kind of magnetism that pulled people
into his orbit. We never knew when he was going to pop in for a visit
but when his car would pull up to the house, all of the kids in the
neighborhood would come running to greet him. I always thought it was
funny that even the neighborhood moms turned into flirty schoolgirls in
his company. There really was never a dull moment when Jimmy was around.
Like a lot of teenagers coming up in the 1960‘s Jimmy had his share of
problems with authority. He was often frustrated with the conservatism
of our town and as a teen he relished the attention he got when he
rebelled against it. Though he was never arrested, he knew how to push
buttons and enjoyed doing so. I can remember my mother getting angry
with him now and again over some of the troubles he got into, but once
he outgrew the worst of it, he brought her a lot of joy.
James loved nature and animals; his Afghan hound, Casaelya, was his
constant companion and he always had a cat or two. He seemed to enjoy
and relate to the very different qualities of dogs and cats, the intense
loyalty of dogs and the independence of cats. He enjoyed living close
to the ocean, making time to take Casaelya for a romp on the beach on a
regular basis. He also enjoyed hiking and found a lot of opportunities
to do so, relishing the vast beauty of California.
He was at his core a kind, gentle soul with a creative spirit and a
brilliant mind. He was a poet, a dreamer, an artist, and a musician. He
was generous and loyal, compassionate and loving. He was both teacher
and student: he graduated from San Francisco State University with a
bachelor’s degree and a lifetime teaching credential for adult education
classes. He continued to take enrichment courses while teaching English
as a Second Language (ESL) at an adult school in San Francisco that was
popular with immigrants seeking American citizenship.
I have often wondered what James might have done with his life had he
not been murdered in the woods of Dixie County in 1974. I’m always
interested to hear what others think. I find it remarkable that I often
hear the same two things: he probably would have been a professor and he
would have been an author. Many people also feel that he would have
continued to care deeply about social and environmental issues and
become an activist of sorts. Whatever he may have made of his life it
would have changed others’ lives as well - the butterfly effect - and
we’ll never know what could have been.
Read the whole story here:
www.whokilledjamesnorris.com
Support his family's Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/
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