Max Norris

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Biography

Max was born on January 24, 1940, in Woodville, Texas to John Leonard Norris and Lottie Mayes.^[1]

He is the youngest, by 20 years, of three sons born to this couple, John Leonard Norris and Vance Allen Norris. He may have another brother, Garland Norris born to another mother, but this is not verified by data.

When Max was young the family moved to Beaumont, Texas, where he attended school. His mother died on February 1, 1947, when Max was 7 years old, and he was raised by his father and Vance. His father died in 1957 when Max was a senior in high school.

During his high school years, Max was active in FFA. After graduating from high school he attended Lamar State College in Beaumont, Texas, for one year. Because he was interested in agriculture he transferred to Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. On the first night there the telephone rang in his dorm room. The college telephone exchange operator asked if anyone was interested in going out with two sorority girls. Max and his roommate agreed. And that is how Max met his future wife, Virginia Kline Norris. They married on June 3, 1960, in Houston, Texas. (Note: The document from the license bureau lists place of marriage as Jefferson County, TX. I, Virginia Kline Norris, was there and can attest that the wedding occurred in Fulbright Methodist Church in Houston, Texas.)

Max continued working toward his degree and was awarded a Bachelor of Science in General Agriculture in May 1962. On December 20, 1962, his first child, Kathi Norris Farinacci was born in Huntsville, TX.^[2] That fall the family moved to Columbia, MO, where Max began studying toward a graduate degree in Poultry Science with an emphasis in Egg Technology. See the attached article discussing the work he was doing. On November 22, 1965, his second child, Kimberly Norris Peterson was born while he was taking an exam in Biochemistry.

In June 1969, Max accepted an offer from Durkee Foods as a chemist in the Bakery Division of their Research Center in Strongsville, OH. The family moved to Parma, OH, and then, in 1973, built a home in Hunting Meadows Subdivision, Strongsville, OH. During those years Max progressed from a Chemist to Department Manager, to Assistant Director of Research to Director of Research. In 1970 he obtained a patent for emulsifiers in bakery products. Also during these years two grandsons, William Joseph Farinacci and John Anthony Farinacci, were born to his daughter Kathi Norris Farinacci and her husband, William Anthony Farinacci and one grandson, Ryan Allen Peterson to his daughter, Kimberly Norris Peterson and her husband at that time, Ron Price. Sometime in 1988 or 1989, Unilever purchased Durkee Foods and made plans to fire a large number of the employees and to move the remainder to the Chicago area. Although Max was not on the "fire" list, he would no longer hold the same position. He decided to take his Golden Parachute and to retire from Durkee Foods.

ADD SCM AWARD

For a couple of years he did some consulting work, but, although lucrative, he was unhappy doing it. On December 1, 1990, he began working as Director of Research for the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute of Minnesota (AURI). Max, Virginis, Kim, and Ryan moved to a small town, Lynd, outside Marshall, MN, where the Southwest Regional Office is located. During his time there he was involved in the US development of biodiesel from soybeans as well as a variety of applications of agricultural products.

In the years that he lived in Lynd, two additional grandchildren were born to Kim and her husband, Donald Lee Peterson, Braden Lee Peterson and Chloe Marie Peterson. He retired from AURI in 2008 and lives with his wife in Lynd. in 2015, his great-grandson and namesake was born to Ryan and his wife, Molly Muth Peterson.

Sources

1. ↑ "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V8WF-5N9 : 5 December 2014), Max Edwin Norris, 24 Jan 1940; citing Texas Department of State Health Services. Accessed in Ancestry.com on 22 April 2021
2. ↑ "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V8JF-FK7 : 1 January 2015), Max Edwin Norris in entry for Kathi Lynn Norris, 20 Dec 1962; from "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Texas Department of State Health Services.

Personal family history throughout profile

• firsthand family information from Max and Virginia

Born

• Ancestry.com. Texas, Birth Index, 1903-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997. Texas: Texas Department of State Health Services. Microfiche. [[1]]

Marriage

• Jefferson County Clerk's Office; Jefferson, Texas; Jefferson County, Texas, Marriage Records. Ancestry.com. Texas, Select County Marriage Records, 1837-2015 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. [[2]]

• See attached image

Education

• "U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; Year: 1957. Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1990 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.[[3]]
• "U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; Year: 1960. Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1990 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. [[4]]

Employment

• Gale Research Company; Detroit, Michigan; Accession Number: 3404493. Ancestry.com. Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009[[5]] Original data: Gale Research Company. Biography and Genealogy Master Index. Detroit, MI, USA: Gale Research Company, 2008.
• Beaumont, Texas, City Directory, 1958. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. [[6]]

Patents

• United States Patent 3,702,307 HYDRATED EMULSIFIERS FOR BAKERY PRODUCTS Max E. Norris, Parma, Ohio, assignor to SCM Corporation, Cleveland. [[7]]

Census and Residence

• Year: 1940; Census Place: Woodville, Tyler, Texas; Roll: m-t0627-04152; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 229-1 [[8]]
• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K4Q9-6NM : accessed 3 August 2018), Max Edward Norris in household of John L Norris, Woodville, Justice Precinct 1, Tyler, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 229-1, sheet 13A, line 33, family 275, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 4152. (Middle name and place of birth of Max are incorrectly recorded.)
• U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1, Ancestry.com. Note: Voter Registration Lists, Public Record Filings, Historical Residential Records, and Other Household Database Listings, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Provo, UT, USA.[[9]]
• Ancestry.com. U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Voter Registration Lists, Public Record Filings, Historical Residential Records, and Other Household Database Listings.[[10]]

DNA

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between Max Norris and his second cousin. Their most-recent common ancestors are their great grandparents, Solomon W Smith and Martha B Snow. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 2nd Cousins, based on sharing 232cM across 11 segments; Confidence: Extremely High.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between Max Norris and his second cousin 2x removed. Their most-recent common ancestors are their great grandparents, Solomon W Smith and Martha B Snow. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 2nd Cousins 2 X Removed, based on sharing 171cM across 7 segments; Confidence: Extremely High.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between Max Norris and his second cousin 1x removed. Their most-recent common ancestors are their great grandparents, Solomon W Smith and Martha B Snow. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 2nd Cousins 1X Removed, based on sharing 51cM across segments; Confidence: Extremely High.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between Max Norris and his second cousin. Their most-recent common ancestors are their great grandparents, Solomon W Smith and Martha B Snow. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 2nd Cousins, based on sharing 247 cM across 9 segments; Confidence: Extremely High.

• Paternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match between Max Norris and his first cousin 1x removed. Their most-recent common ancestors are their great grandparents, Daniel Hankins and Alvina McDaniels. Predicted relationship from AncestryDNA: 1st Cousins 1X Removed, based on sharing 262cM across 8 segments; Confidence: Extremely High.