Norman Davis

Norman Davis, 86, of Ortonville, died on October 12, 2016, at Northridge Residence in Ortonville.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, October 17, beginning at 10:30 a.m. at First United Methodist Church in Ortonville, with Pastor Melanie Reiners officiating.

Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Inurnment will be held at a later date.

Norman Davis was born on February 15, 1930, in Graceville, Minnesota to Charles and Edith (Bergstrom) Davis. His father died when Norm was four years old, during the depression years, at which time his mother moved with her six children to Ortonville, where the family was generously supported by the Ortonville community. After graduating with honors from Ortonville High School, Norm served in active duty with the Army National Guard, and then attended the Institute of Technology at the University of Minnesota, earning a degree in engineering. After graduating, he began his 40 year career with Honeywell.

In 1953, Norm married his first wife, Jeanette, and together they raised their three children in Richfield, Minnesota. He worked on numerous projects at Honeywell, in commercial and military aircraft, including fuel management, center of gravity control, and autopilots for the F104 Fighter, the Polaris, and C5A, the Apollo Project, and the engine controls for the Space Shuttle. Jeanette died in 1981. Norm retired in 1992 and he came back to Ortonville in 1993. At that time he was reacquainted with a girl he had dated in high school, Genevieve, also a widow, they married in 1994, and spent the next 22 years enjoying a marriage full of golf (and golf ball hunting), travel, volunteering, fishing, and of course, crossword puzzles and cards. Despite his engineering prowess, he was most proud of the humble jobs he had held early in his life, including soda jerk, pool table rack boy, and the job he was most proud of, a mud maker for a plaster tender (he was the best mudder ever!). He spent the last four months living at Northridge Residence where the nurses and staff gave him extraordinary care and, more importantly, where they became his dear friends.

Left with his loving memory is his wife, Genevieve, of Ortonville, MN; daughter, Michelle (Greg) Pulles of Plymouth, MN; son Christopher (Stephani) Davis of Trophy Club, TX; step-children: Sheri (Joel) Frett of Burnsville, MN; Susan (Jim) Tollerton of Sarasota, FL; Melanie (Jerry) Wiegman of Ortonville, MN; and Scott (Monica) Simonitch of Ortonville, MN; 17 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; two great-great grandchildren; sister, Catherine Grewe of San Clemente, CA; and many nieces and nephews.

Norm was preceded in death by his parents; first wife, Jeanette; son, Michael; three brothers; and one sister.