Norman R. Barnes

Norman R. Barnes

Hiawatha

Norman R. Barnes, (Norm) of Hiawatha, IA, age 91, passed away at the Hiawatha Care Center on July 6, 2024, finally succumbing to multiple medical conditions that include 20 years of prostate cancer and heart disease for the past five. He was surrounded by his loving family.

A Celebration of Life service will be held Wednesday, July 10, 2024, at 1 PM, at Cedar Memorial Chapel of Memories, Cedar Rapids IA. Rev. Kathy Franzenburg and Rev. Ritva Williams will officiate. A visitation will be held in the Cedar Memorial Chapel Stateroom Tuesday, July 9, 2024, from 4 to 7 PM. All are welcome to share a light lunch with the family at St. Stephens Lutheran Church (610 30th Street SE) after the service on Wednesday.

Norm was born Oct. 3, 1932, in rural Ossian, IA, the sixth child of Magnus and Borghild Barnes. He attended old Jackson Elementary and McKinley High School in Cedar Rapids. After graduating from the University of Iowa in January 1955, he worked as sales and advertising director for Nissen Trampoline (later Universal Gym) for 38 years. After retiring from Universal, he helped develop Advanced Manufacturing Services with his son, Jeff, that they operated for ten years. In July of 1994, Norm earned his Certification for Financial Planning. He never “hung out his shingle,” but rather advised family and friends on financial matters for free. His all-inclusive love, compassion, generosity, and insatiable quest for news guided his daily life; equity and fairness guided his personal and political values. Fitness for himself and others was always his goal.

Norm excelled in basketball, tennis, handball and racquet ball. He was inducted into the Iowa Tennis Hall of Fame in 1950. At the height of his tennis career, he won the Big Ten Tennis title for the University of Iowa, the first for the University in 20 years.

For 49 years, one of his greatest passions was fishing in Canada with his kids, grandkids, cousin, Lester Johnson (Rochester, MN) and many fishing buddies. He loved teaching both children and adults how to locate and catch walleye, smallmouth bass and muskie, and to enjoy shore lunches. At home, he was an online recipe sleuth, favoring chicken and beef smothered in BBQ sauce.

He was preceded in death by his parents and four older sisters, Myrtle Heuston, Gladys Johnson, Elsie Bond, Eleanor Reeder, and older brother, Alf. Survivors include his wife, Donna, children, Terri (Marc) McCoy of Cedar Rapids, LuAnn Barnes of Ankeny, Jeffrey (Denise) Barnes, Toan Barnes, Jonathan Barnes, all of Cedar Rapids, Melissa Barnes and Maria Selby of Orlando, Fla. Twelve grandchildren include Angie, Sean, Matt, Adam, Trent, Marcus, Kammie, Jasmin, Amanda, Jayden, Christian, Quinn. Great-grandchildren include Kenna, Jace, Logan, Layla, Avery, Hayden.

Norm thanked God every night for the many blessings he received in his lifetime, especially his devoted wife, Donna, his seven precious children and his 12 precious grandchildren. He considered his loving parents and five loving siblings a blessing because of their influence on his early years and his pathway to manhood.

Heartfelt thanks to the staff at Mercy hospital, Mercy Hospice and the Hiawatha Care Center who went the extra mile to care for Norm and his large family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests any memorials be directed to the Donna and Dennis Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy or the American Cancer Association. Please share your memories of Norm with the family at www.caringbridge.org/normbarnes.