William "Bill" Norris, Jr.

William Arthur Norris Jr., known to his friends as Bill, died April 16, 2016, in Orlando, Fla., following a long battle with cancer. He was born in Winter Park, Fla., on April 23, 1934, to Ruby Morris Norris and William Norris Sr. After a few years in Winter Park, the family moved to Bartow Fla., in 1943, where he grew up and worked most of his life. He graduated from Summerlin Institute, now known as Bartow High School, where he was vice–president of the student body and president of Key Club. Following military service, he then received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida. He served in the U.S. Army as a special agent for the Counter Intelligence Corps, stationed in Washington D.C. After graduating from undergraduate school he joined the campaign staff of Farris Bryant for Governor, and after Bryant’s election he stayed on as an administrative assistant. He then left the Governor’s staff to go to law school at UF and was elected to the UF Hall of Fame and as a lifetime member of Kappa Alpha Order. After graduating law school he returned to the Governor’s staff, where he served as General Counsel to the Governor. In 1963, he came back to Bartow and became a partner in the law firm of Storey, Roberts and Norris. He later went into solo practice then joined the firm of Tomassello, Campbell, Dunlap and Norris. He served as City Attorney for Bartow and as an Assistant County Solicitor. He was also legislative representative for the Florida Citrus Commission in the 1969, ‘70 and ‘71 sessions of the Florida legislature. In 1971 Gov. Ruben Askew appointed him as one of the two judges in the newly-created Magistrate Court of Polk County. He was the first and only Administrative Judge of that Court during its brief lifetime. In 1973 he was elected to the newly-revised County Court, where he was the first Administrative Judge of that new court. In 1975 Gov. Askew appointed Norris to fill a vacancy on the 10th Judicial Circuit Court and subsequently was elected to a full term and served thereafter without opposition until his retirement in 1995. As a Circuit Court Judge, Norris served in every division of the court and served as Administrative Judge of every division. He was also elected by his colleagues to an unprecedented three consecutive two year terms as chief judge. Upon retirement he served as Senior Circuit Judge, working around the state on special assignments. He also started spending more time in New York City, where he ended up for almost 20 years, fulfilling a life-long dream of going to Yankee games and Broadway shows daily. He was in love with the theater and arts and was in several plays, both in N.Y., and Polk County. Norris is survived by his son, William A. Norris III from Winter Park; his daughter, Kathryn Bendeck and husband, John Bendeck; a grandson, Alex Falletta and his wife Gina Falletta; and two great-grandchildren: Saylor and Finely Falletta, all from Columbia S.C.; a sister, Ann Parker of Palm Springs, Calif.; a nephew, Doug Parker; and grand-nieces Morgan and Grace, of Houston, Texas; and a niece, Donna Parker and grand-niece, Josie from Denver, Colo. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m., at Wildwood Cemetery, Bartow, on April 30, 2016; reception to follow.