Lee Norris had been working as an assistant credit manager some 30 years ago when he decided to switch jobs in favor of following in the family footsteps.
Like his father and grandfather before him, he became a funeral director. He and his wife, Jane, are owners of Norris Funeral Home in St. Charles.
Lee Norris traded steady 9-to-5 hours for the unpredictable schedule involved in operating a family-owned funeral home. Neither he, Jane, nor any of his three grown children has regretted his career switch.
“My kids grew up knowing that when the telephone rang and something came up, we postponed things or moved our schedule around,” he said.
“But there were times when [the business] was quiet and I was home when the kids got home from school, and [now] I’m home when they drop in. We had a benefit that other [parents and children] don’t have,” Lee said.
For Jane Norris, who grew up in North Carolina, being involved in operating a funeral home was a new experience. She and Lee met while they were attending college in her home state.
Although she had not considered being in the funeral home business until several years after she married, she has found the field a gratifying experience.
“I didn’t think I’d like it. But it’s been wonderful to be able to serve people,” she said.
As a business owner who often deals with grieving families, Lee Norris said his philosophy has been simple: “We want to listen very closely to what the families want and provide that.”
In addition to their work, the Norrises, who have been married for 37 years, have spent many hours involved in volunteer activities in the community.
Jane Norris is a member of the local garden club and serves in several women’s organizations. Lee Norris has been president or chairman of eight organizations, including the Fox Valley Hospice, St. Charles Community Chest, St. Charles Historical Society and St. Charles Rotary Club.
“It’s part of giving back to the community,” he said. “It’s an investment in the next generation and in the community that we are blessed to be part of.”
He also was a member of a committee that oversaw the recent revitalization of the village’s downtown.
When Lee Norris, 57, was growing up, the downtown was a site for farm implement businesses and a grain elevator.
“It was a base for a farm community back then,” he said. Now, it’s more of an entertainment hub, he said, with “restaurants, boutiques and places you go for activities.”
The Norrises have for decades lived above the funeral home, which is set downtown. They have had a special vantage point from which to witness the downtown’s slow decline and now its upswing.
Lee Norris said having an active, vital downtown is crucial to his business as well as to others.
“If people never ventured downtown, they wouldn’t even know that I’m here,” he said.
Although others might want to avoid hustle and bustle, the Norrises are happy to see people walking on downtown streets, viewing the Fox River, eating in restaurants and making purchases in the shops.
“If you see a town that doesn’t grow, it dies,” Jane Norris said.
