1943
William
2014
William Norris
March 16, 1943 — April 12, 2014
William P. Norris, age 71, emeritus professor of sociology at Oberlin College, died April 12, 2014, at Judson Park Retirement Community in Cleveland after a long illness.
He was born on March 16, 1943, in Charlotte, NC, the son of William Paul Norris and Janis Corbitt Norris. He grew up in Tucson, AZ, where the family moved when he was twelve years old.
He is survived by his daughter, Faryl Janis, and her husband, Greg Doughty, of University Heights, Ohio, grandchildren Griffin and Charlotte Doughty, sisters Melissa Filley and Alison Wilson of Denver, and his life partner of 35 years, Clayton Koppes, of Cleveland.
Dr. Norris graduated from the University of Arizona in 1965 with a major in English. He received his M.A. degree from the University of Florida in sociology in 1969 and his Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University in 1977. After teaching briefly at Wellesley College, he taught at Oberlin College from 1978 until his retirement in 2004.
He served in the Peace Corps in Salvador Bahia, Brazil, from 1965 to 1967, where he worked as a community organizer in a favela (squatter settlement). Traveling United States dignitaries, including Senators Robert Kennedy and Frank Church, were among those who stopped to see his work.
Norris returned to Salvador Bahia to research and write his Ph.D. dissertation on the survival strategies employed by marginal and working class people in Brazil's favelas. Gaining fluency in Portugese, he published well regarded studies on favelas in academic journals. He translated his interest in social justice into research on poverty in Lorain County, Ohio, and on the mixed experiences of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students in higher education. He served on the board of the Lorain County Urban League.
Chairing Oberlin's Sociology Department several times, he was elected by his colleagues to major college committees, including the College Faculty Council. For twenty-five years, he taught the social theory course that all sociology majors were required to take.
Norris was the founding chair of Oberlin's Comparative American Studies Program and was honored with the program's first "living legacy" award. With his partner, he received the first alumni award from Oberlin's Lambda Alumni organization.
He loved to travel, dance, hike, play squash, garden, cook, play with his grandchildren, and listen to music (Brazilian, classical, and rock 'n roll).
Funeral Services will be private. A Memorial Service will be scheduled at Oberlin College on June 1st at a time to be announced.
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He was born on March 16, 1943, in Charlotte, NC, the son of William Paul Norris and Janis Corbitt Norris. He grew up in Tucson, AZ, where the family moved when he was twelve years old.
He is survived by his daughter, Faryl Janis, and her husband, Greg Doughty, of University Heights, Ohio, grandchildren Griffin and Charlotte Doughty, sisters Melissa Filley and Alison Wilson of Denver, and his life partner of 35 years, Clayton Koppes, of Cleveland.
Dr. Norris graduated from the University of Arizona in 1965 with a major in English. He received his M.A. degree from the University of Florida in sociology in 1969 and his Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University in 1977. After teaching briefly at Wellesley College, he taught at Oberlin College from 1978 until his retirement in 2004.
He served in the Peace Corps in Salvador Bahia, Brazil, from 1965 to 1967, where he worked as a community organizer in a favela (squatter settlement). Traveling United States dignitaries, including Senators Robert Kennedy and Frank Church, were among those who stopped to see his work.
Norris returned to Salvador Bahia to research and write his Ph.D. dissertation on the survival strategies employed by marginal and working class people in Brazil's favelas. Gaining fluency in Portugese, he published well regarded studies on favelas in academic journals. He translated his interest in social justice into research on poverty in Lorain County, Ohio, and on the mixed experiences of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students in higher education. He served on the board of the Lorain County Urban League.
Chairing Oberlin's Sociology Department several times, he was elected by his colleagues to major college committees, including the College Faculty Council. For twenty-five years, he taught the social theory course that all sociology majors were required to take.
Norris was the founding chair of Oberlin's Comparative American Studies Program and was honored with the program's first "living legacy" award. With his partner, he received the first alumni award from Oberlin's Lambda Alumni organization.
He loved to travel, dance, hike, play squash, garden, cook, play with his grandchildren, and listen to music (Brazilian, classical, and rock 'n roll).
Funeral Services will be private. A Memorial Service will be scheduled at Oberlin College on June 1st at a time to be announced.
PDF Printable Version
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