Albert (Al) G. Norman Jr.

Albert George Norman, Jr. ("Al") died on July 13, 2016. He was born on May 29, 1929 in Birmingham, Alabama to Ila Mae Carroll Norman and Albert George Norman, Sr. He attended Phillips High School in Birmingham, graduating early at the age of 16. He briefly attended Birmingham Southern College, but quickly decided that he was too young to benefit from the college experience. In 1946, he therefore enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and served first as a private, and later as a sergeant, in various Army camps throughout the United States during the waning days of World War II.

After his military service, Al attended Auburn University, where he majored in sociology and enjoyed playing his trumpet in the Auburn Knights band. After Auburn, he received a master's degree in sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At Chapel Hill's sociology department, he met his future wife, Marnie DeShazo, and they later became engaged in the University's Arboretum.

After Chapel Hill, Al followed Marnie to her home town of Atlanta and enrolled in Emory Law School. Al and Marnie were married at St. Philip's Cathedral in Atlanta in September, 1955. At Emory, Al found his natural calling. He became editor of the Emory Law Review and graduated first in his class. After graduation, he became an associate, and later a partner, in the law firm of Hansel, Post, Brandon and Dorsey. During this period, Al and Marnie had two children, Catherine and George. Although Al initially practiced in a broad range of fields, he ultimately represented the Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Constitution, then separate newspapers, in First Amendment and libel law, and he also represented the Atlanta Gas Company, later known as AGL Resources, in public utility matters.

In 1984, Al became a partner in Long & Aldridge; the firm then became known as Long, Aldridge & Norman. One of his first cases in this new firm involved the defense of an editorial, published in the Atlanta Constitution, that compared the inflammatory views of William Shockley with those of Adolph Hitler. Shockley, a Nobel Laureate, not only asserted the genetic inferiority of African-Americans, but advocated the paid, voluntary sterilization of those whose intelligence was deemed substandard. After a lengthy trial, Shockley received only one dollar in damages, and the case attracted national attention.

Al served as President of the Lawyers Club of Atlanta from 1973 to 1974, and he was instrumental in the Club's desegregation during his tenure as president. He served on the Board of Directors of AGL Resources from 1976 to 2000. He was a member of the Old War Horse Lawyers Club and of the Cherokee Town and Country Club. He was also a parishioner at St. Luke's Episcopal Church.

Al relished a multitude of hobbies and pastimes. For many years he was an avid golfer and a keen fly-fisherman. He was a skilled amateur photographer, and he enjoyed identifying birds and their bird songs. He was an enthusiastic trumpet player who returned to Auburn Knight reunions for many decades. He created an intricate and imaginative lay-out of O-scale model trains in his home. He enjoyed riding, especially in the American West. He also loved traveling throughout Europe, Africa, Mexico and Canada. Al and Marnie's last great trip, to the Galápagos Islands in 2009, reflected their mutual fascination with Darwin's experiences on those islands. After many years of vacationing in western North Carolina, Al and Marnie purchased a log cabin in Cashiers, North Carolina that became a beloved second home.

Al is predeceased by his parents, Ila Mae and Albert Norman, by his wife, Catherine Marshall DeShazo Norman, ("Marnie"), and by his brother, Leland Carroll Norman. He is survived by his daughter, Catherine Marshall Norman Simons and by her husband Alan, by his son, Albert George Norman III, and by his granddaughter Catherine Marshall Simons, ("Cate"). He is also survived by his nephews and niece, Leland Norman, Jr., David Norman, and Melanie Norman Hoy. The family wishes to thank his devoted caregiver and friend, Mary Moore, for her tireless assistance, especially during the months and days of his final illness.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Al's name to the Auburn Knights Alumni Association Scholarship Fund, c/o Fritz Siler, Donation for Albert G. Norman, Jr., 3110 Deer Chase Court, Snellville, Georgia 30039. After a private internment at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Cashiers, North Carolina, a memorial service will be held on Wednesday, August 10, 2016 at 2:00 at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Atlanta. The family will receive friends in the Parish Hall after the service.