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Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, June 20, 2016 from 4-8 PM.
Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at 11:00 at the Packanack Community Church, 120 Lake Drive East, Wayne. Please meet directly at the church.
Charles E. Norris, Jr., age 93, of the Packanack Section of Wayne, died peacefully on Thursday, June 16, 2016.
Born in Jersey City, the oldest of Charles and Virginia Norris’ four children, Charlie grew up during the depression. With work in short supply, it was hard for his father to secure and retain employment. Consequently, Charlie’s family moved eleven times in the first thirteen years of his life. He was attending Kearny High School but had to quit before graduating because his father got sick. Instead Charlie was thrust into the role of breadwinner for his family.
At age twenty, Charlie’s sole desire was to join the U.S. Marine Corps but his parents refused. In those days you had to volunteer. The Marines did not accept draftees. When a draft letter from the Army arrived in Charlie’s mailbox, his parents figured he had to go anyway so they gave in and let him volunteer for the Marines. He served from 1942 to 1945 in the South Pacific. His unit was dubbed the Devil Dogs and he took part in the invasion on Lella Lavella Island and Bougainville Island. A corporal, Charlie was part of a machine gun company responsible for gun emplacement on the beaches. He sustained a concussion at the invasion of Bougainville and was ultimately hospitalized in New Zealand. For his bravery, Charlie was awarded the Certificate of Satisfactory Service, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal,
World War II Victory Medal and Marine Corps Marksman Rifle Badge.
After returning from Marine service, Charlie’s first order of business was earning his high school diploma. He did very well in school and like his father before him, he worked for Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G). He was a relay technician and he must have enjoyed that job a lot because he spent his whole career there. In total Charlie worked there for forty-one-and-a-half years, retiring in 1987.
Charlie met his beloved wife Dorothy Wreesman on a blind date. Dorothy, who went by the name Dottie, owned her own beauty shop and one of her clients was Mrs. Rabino. One day, Mrs. Rabino came in the shop and began asking Dottie lots of questions about herself. After much questioning and answering, Mrs. Rabino told Dottie that her son had a friend that she was convinced the stars indicated Dottie should date. Dottie was already casually dating someone else but she took Mrs. Rabino’s recommendation. When Charlie came knocking, Dottie opened the door and her first thought was “Wow! What an attractive man with wavy blond hair.” Her second thought was “Hmmm….. He’s so handsome, he should have been snatched up by a girl long ago – there must be something wrong with him.” Since Dottie loved to go bowling, their first date was to the bowling alley. The rest of the story is history. They married on Saturday, February 17, 1951 at the First Presbyterian Church on Kearny Ave. in Kearny. After the ceremony they celebrated with friends at a grand reception at O’Hara’s in Kearny, then they headed to Florida by car for their enchanted honeymoon. Their first apartment was supposed to be in Lyndhurst but when they got home from the honeymoon, the landlord told them to wait to move in because his family was all sick and he didn’t want them to get sick too. A few days later, the landlord told them that his daughter was going to live in the apartment instead. Now what should they do? Apartments were in short supply in those days so this was not a great start to their marriage. As the saying goes though, they had each other, and with love, any other hurdle could be overcome – even this one. Charlie and Dottie ended up moving in with Charlie’s parents on Chestnut Drive in Packanack Lake. They stayed there for the first ten months of their married life, then they found a house for themselves on the same street! They’ve lived there the past sixty-five years.
One of Charlie’s favorite activities was taking his wife and children camping. It combined two of his favorite things – seeing the great U.S.A. and being with his family. He started out with a pop-up camper and slowly graduated to a 16-footer, then a 22-footer and finally to the king of the road – a motor home! They traveled all over the country and into Canada including a cross country trip to California and a few trips down the east coast to visit Florida’s Disney World. One of his family’s favorite memories was Charlie’s penchant for driving down dead-end streets with the trailer in tow. The only way out was to back up and that’s no small feat with a twenty-two-foot trailer behind you! He also got to return to New Zealand where he was hospitalized during the war. Charlie loved that country so much, he said he could have easily lived there.
Charlie was an avid reader who especially loved to read books covering U.S History, including World War II and also historical fiction. A man with a love for the arts, music truly spoke to him and he loved a good Gilbert and Sullivan operetta or a classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. As a young kid, he was a talented boy chorister at Trinity Church in Newark. He’d take the bus from Kearny to Newark for five-cents and get paid a quarter to sing. The trip back to Kearny would cost another nickel and that netted him a fifteen-cent profit - enough money for three large chocolate bars. An armchair intellect, Charlie was always up for a good conversation about the events of the world or whatever you wished to talk about and one of his most loved places for conversing was at one of the Spanish or Portuguese restaurants in the Ironbound section of Newark.
Charlie always cherished his Marine Corps service. Around 1991 he was invited to join the West Hudson Marine Corps League in Kearny. There he became reacquainted with veterans he had served with during the war. He ultimately became the group’s chaplain and he loved the camaraderie and good work that took place. Along with his fellow Marines he’d help veterans who lived in the Menlo Park Veterans Home by visiting and playing bingo to bring some happiness into their lives. They hosted carnivals and raised money to buy toys for needy children at Christmas and helped raise money for scholarships offered to high school seniors from Kearny families who had members in the league. To win the scholarship, an applicant would simply have to write a short essay about what it meant to them to be an American. Charlie was so proud when his granddaughter, Allison won the league’s scholarship. That essay was so well written that it went on to win the regional, state and national scholarships. Another great part of the league was being able to participate in it with his wife Dottie who was an active member in the league’s auxiliary. Together they marched in various parades on St. Patrick’s Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Fourth of July, and Charlie was still marching until he turned 90. On the Sunday after Memorial Day, they went to the cemetery in North Arlington and set American flags on veteran’s graves. Of course there were also many social activities that the league offered like pig roasts and the annual Marine ball in Menlo Park complete with carved Marine emblem ice sculpture and bag pipe honor guard. One of the greatest honors of Charlie’s life was being one of the few selected from his Marine Corps detachment to ride the battleship USS New Jersey BB-62 as it travelled through the Panama Canal enroute to its final birth in Camden, NJ in 1999.
Charlie and Dottie joined the Packanack Community Church soon after moving to Packanack Lake. Initially it was the potluck suppers that enticed him to go. One day the minister told him and Dottie that it was time for them to step up their commitment and become members. They did, and over the last six decades, Charlie served as an usher, a counter and on the music committee.
Charlie had a lot to be thankful for in his life and indeed he was! A warm-hearted guy, he was always upbeat and friendly. Because his name was so close to the famous martial artist and actor Chuck Norris, people he encountered would often ask, “Are you THE Chuck Norris?” His reply was always, “The original!” He had a great sense of humor and was even joking with the nurses on the last day of this his life on earth. Everyone will be looking forward to seeing Charlie in heaven!
Charlie is survived by his beloved wife of 65 years – Dorothy; his three beautiful daughters: Debbie and husband Joseph Mello of Newton, Susan Norris-Schrodt of Branson, Missouri, and Kim Ellen and husband James Welsh of Kissimmee, Florida; seven adored grandchildren: Scott, Jennifer, Corey, Kyle, Allison, Cameron, and Alexandria; one precious great-grandson: Eli; and two dear siblings: Bill and wife Lois Norris of Colts Neck, NJ, and Nancy Blakely of Ledgewood, NJ. He was predeceased by his dear brother Francis Norris and dear son-in-law Frederick Schrodt.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Charlie’s name are asked to consider Packanack Community Church.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, June 20, 2016 from 4-8 PM.
Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at 11:00 at the Packanack Community Church, 120 Lake Drive East, Wayne. Please meet directly at the church.
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, June 20, 2016 from 4-8 PM.
Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at 11:00 at the Packanack Community Church, 120 Lake Drive East, Wayne. Please meet directly at the church.
Charles E. Norris, Jr., age 93, of the Packanack Section of Wayne, died peacefully on Thursday, June 16, 2016.
Born in Jersey City, the oldest of Charles and Virginia Norris’ four children, Charlie grew up during the depression. With work in short supply, it was hard for his father to secure and retain employment. Consequently, Charlie’s family moved eleven times in the first thirteen years of his life. He was attending Kearny High School but had to quit before graduating because his father got sick. Instead Charlie was thrust into the role of breadwinner for his family.
At age twenty, Charlie’s sole desire was to join the U.S. Marine Corps but his parents refused. In those days you had to volunteer. The Marines did not accept draftees. When a draft letter from the Army arrived in Charlie’s mailbox, his parents figured he had to go anyway so they gave in and let him volunteer for the Marines. He served from 1942 to 1945 in the South Pacific. His unit was dubbed the Devil Dogs and he took part in the invasion on Lella Lavella Island and Bougainville Island. A corporal, Charlie was part of a machine gun company responsible for gun emplacement on the beaches. He sustained a concussion at the invasion of Bougainville and was ultimately hospitalized in New Zealand. For his bravery, Charlie was awarded the Certificate of Satisfactory Service, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal,
World War II Victory Medal and Marine Corps Marksman Rifle Badge.
After returning from Marine service, Charlie’s first order of business was earning his high school diploma. He did very well in school and like his father before him, he worked for Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G). He was a relay technician and he must have enjoyed that job a lot because he spent his whole career there. In total Charlie worked there for forty-one-and-a-half years, retiring in 1987.
Charlie met his beloved wife Dorothy Wreesman on a blind date. Dorothy, who went by the name Dottie, owned her own beauty shop and one of her clients was Mrs. Rabino. One day, Mrs. Rabino came in the shop and began asking Dottie lots of questions about herself. After much questioning and answering, Mrs. Rabino told Dottie that her son had a friend that she was convinced the stars indicated Dottie should date. Dottie was already casually dating someone else but she took Mrs. Rabino’s recommendation. When Charlie came knocking, Dottie opened the door and her first thought was “Wow! What an attractive man with wavy blond hair.” Her second thought was “Hmmm….. He’s so handsome, he should have been snatched up by a girl long ago – there must be something wrong with him.” Since Dottie loved to go bowling, their first date was to the bowling alley. The rest of the story is history. They married on Saturday, February 17, 1951 at the First Presbyterian Church on Kearny Ave. in Kearny. After the ceremony they celebrated with friends at a grand reception at O’Hara’s in Kearny, then they headed to Florida by car for their enchanted honeymoon. Their first apartment was supposed to be in Lyndhurst but when they got home from the honeymoon, the landlord told them to wait to move in because his family was all sick and he didn’t want them to get sick too. A few days later, the landlord told them that his daughter was going to live in the apartment instead. Now what should they do? Apartments were in short supply in those days so this was not a great start to their marriage. As the saying goes though, they had each other, and with love, any other hurdle could be overcome – even this one. Charlie and Dottie ended up moving in with Charlie’s parents on Chestnut Drive in Packanack Lake. They stayed there for the first ten months of their married life, then they found a house for themselves on the same street! They’ve lived there the past sixty-five years.
One of Charlie’s favorite activities was taking his wife and children camping. It combined two of his favorite things – seeing the great U.S.A. and being with his family. He started out with a pop-up camper and slowly graduated to a 16-footer, then a 22-footer and finally to the king of the road – a motor home! They traveled all over the country and into Canada including a cross country trip to California and a few trips down the east coast to visit Florida’s Disney World. One of his family’s favorite memories was Charlie’s penchant for driving down dead-end streets with the trailer in tow. The only way out was to back up and that’s no small feat with a twenty-two-foot trailer behind you! He also got to return to New Zealand where he was hospitalized during the war. Charlie loved that country so much, he said he could have easily lived there.
Charlie was an avid reader who especially loved to read books covering U.S History, including World War II and also historical fiction. A man with a love for the arts, music truly spoke to him and he loved a good Gilbert and Sullivan operetta or a classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. As a young kid, he was a talented boy chorister at Trinity Church in Newark. He’d take the bus from Kearny to Newark for five-cents and get paid a quarter to sing. The trip back to Kearny would cost another nickel and that netted him a fifteen-cent profit - enough money for three large chocolate bars. An armchair intellect, Charlie was always up for a good conversation about the events of the world or whatever you wished to talk about and one of his most loved places for conversing was at one of the Spanish or Portuguese restaurants in the Ironbound section of Newark.
Charlie always cherished his Marine Corps service. Around 1991 he was invited to join the West Hudson Marine Corps League in Kearny. There he became reacquainted with veterans he had served with during the war. He ultimately became the group’s chaplain and he loved the camaraderie and good work that took place. Along with his fellow Marines he’d help veterans who lived in the Menlo Park Veterans Home by visiting and playing bingo to bring some happiness into their lives. They hosted carnivals and raised money to buy toys for needy children at Christmas and helped raise money for scholarships offered to high school seniors from Kearny families who had members in the league. To win the scholarship, an applicant would simply have to write a short essay about what it meant to them to be an American. Charlie was so proud when his granddaughter, Allison won the league’s scholarship. That essay was so well written that it went on to win the regional, state and national scholarships. Another great part of the league was being able to participate in it with his wife Dottie who was an active member in the league’s auxiliary. Together they marched in various parades on St. Patrick’s Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Fourth of July, and Charlie was still marching until he turned 90. On the Sunday after Memorial Day, they went to the cemetery in North Arlington and set American flags on veteran’s graves. Of course there were also many social activities that the league offered like pig roasts and the annual Marine ball in Menlo Park complete with carved Marine emblem ice sculpture and bag pipe honor guard. One of the greatest honors of Charlie’s life was being one of the few selected from his Marine Corps detachment to ride the battleship USS New Jersey BB-62 as it travelled through the Panama Canal enroute to its final birth in Camden, NJ in 1999.
Charlie and Dottie joined the Packanack Community Church soon after moving to Packanack Lake. Initially it was the potluck suppers that enticed him to go. One day the minister told him and Dottie that it was time for them to step up their commitment and become members. They did, and over the last six decades, Charlie served as an usher, a counter and on the music committee.
Charlie had a lot to be thankful for in his life and indeed he was! A warm-hearted guy, he was always upbeat and friendly. Because his name was so close to the famous martial artist and actor Chuck Norris, people he encountered would often ask, “Are you THE Chuck Norris?” His reply was always, “The original!” He had a great sense of humor and was even joking with the nurses on the last day of this his life on earth. Everyone will be looking forward to seeing Charlie in heaven!
Charlie is survived by his beloved wife of 65 years – Dorothy; his three beautiful daughters: Debbie and husband Joseph Mello of Newton, Susan Norris-Schrodt of Branson, Missouri, and Kim Ellen and husband James Welsh of Kissimmee, Florida; seven adored grandchildren: Scott, Jennifer, Corey, Kyle, Allison, Cameron, and Alexandria; one precious great-grandson: Eli; and two dear siblings: Bill and wife Lois Norris of Colts Neck, NJ, and Nancy Blakely of Ledgewood, NJ. He was predeceased by his dear brother Francis Norris and dear son-in-law Frederick Schrodt.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Charlie’s name are asked to consider Packanack Community Church.
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