Vernon "Ray" Norris' Obituary
Vernon Ray (Sonny) Norris, Jr., 90, passed away April 12, 2023 at his home in McKinney, Texas.
Ray was born on June 23, 1932 during the Great Depression to Vernon Ray Norris, Sr. and (Mary) Kathleen Norris in Clarksville, Texas. After graduating from Clarksville High School, he joined the Army National Guard Reserves where he proudly served for 13 years. While in the Reserves, he embarked on a career in accounting where he went on to become a lead accountant at Mission Foods until his retirement.
Ray was preceded in death by his father, Ray, mother, Kathleen and sister, Ann Stricker. He is survived by his wife, Nannette (Nan), his daughter, Marla Bancroft, sons Trey Norris and Kyle Norris, 3 grandchildren, Ashlee Andrews, Grant Norris and Laney Norris, 2 sisters, Betty Blackburn and Barbara Walters, brother, Harold (Pete) Norris, and beloved nieces and nephews. He is also survived by Nan’s 5 children, 15 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren, who loved Papa dearly.
Ray and Nan married in 1996. Nan was a loving wife and caregiver for their entire marriage but even more so over the past year. Together they enjoyed living on their 20-acre property in McKinney, where you could always find them working on a home improvement project or planning a family event such as the 4th of July picnic and Halloween festivities. Whether it was an Easter egg hunt, a tea party, or a birthday, they planned big and decorated to the hilt.
Ray deeply loved his family and they loved him back just as much. He spent many years coaching his sons’ baseball and soccer teams and was proud that his teams always finished in 1st place. He enjoyed going to his grandchildren’s sporting events to cheer them on and offer coaching advice. He loved his grandchildren and was proud of all of them and their accomplishments.
Ray was a true believer in hard work to achieve his goals and loved to tinker with things. Whether it was repairing lawnmowers, tractors or a dishwasher, he would rather tinker and fix things than hire someone for the task. Even if it meant fixing, refixing and refixing again, he found great satisfaction in doing things himself. At 89, he was still mowing the lawn, cutting trees and could be seen on the roof of their 2-story house fixing shingles.
Devoted to physical fitness, Ray drove to the gym 3 days a week until the Pandemic of 2020 when he was 87 years old. Even on his final day, he was using the pull-up bar in his bed to workout. He enjoyed listening to Bob Wills and Western swing music, reading Western novels, and watching Western classics on TV.
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