N. David Norman Jr.,
March 31, 1950 – July 09, 2024

N. David Norman, Jr. 74, of Tijeras, NM, died on Tuesday, July 9, at home, after his heroic battle against the disease that claimed him too soon.

Dave was a graduate of West Orange (NJ) High School and Furman University (SC). He was smart, loyal, funny, and a formidable golfer (Rock Spring Golf Club and Manasquan River Golf Club); he carried a 1-iron in his bag and he knew how to use it. He loved a challenge – in life or on the course.

With his ingenuity and dexterity, he made the complicated look simple. Dave’s love of flying and of the inner workings of complicated machines led him to an Air Force career, he excelled as a pilot in the Sikorsky HH-53 in Thailand during the Vietnam War, where he flew special ops and search and rescue missions. Stateside, Dave flew space capsule recovery missions in the Pacific from Hickam AFB, Hawaii and served in an engineering capacity at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

After retirement from the Air Force, Dave capitalized on his M.S. in Airport Operations (Embry Riddle Aeronautical University) at Dulles International Airport and Albuquerque International Airport. Retiring from the civilian side of aviation, Dave invested in, maintained, and enjoyed his acreage and home in Tijeras, NM, his Harley Davidson motorcycles and his vintage pinball machine collection, and shared his time, interest, and love with two sons and their families: Delta Air Lines First Officer and USAF Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Timothy David Norman and Erin of Columbus, MS. and Andrew Christopher Norman of Albuquerque, NM and with his six grandchildren (Jacob, Shelby, and Caroline of Columbus and Kaylee, Adisyn, and Christopher of Albuquerque.

Dave was predeceased by his parents, N. Davis Norman and Carolyn Lewis Norman, and is also survived by his steadfast partners in family adventures: sister Pamela (husband Frank Apito) and brother D. Christopher (wife Donna) and their families.

The family plans to celebrate Dave’s extraordinary life and faith at gatherings in New Jersey and in New Mexico.

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David served a tour in the Vietnam War as a HH-53C pilot with the 40th ARRS at Nakhon Phanom RTAFB, Thailand in the 1975 time frame.