Norman Shelley Solomon

Norman Shelley Solomon was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 7, 1944. He liked to point out that, although he was born the day after the D-Day Normandy Invasion, his parents (Joseph and Lilyan, nee Portnoy) did not even know about it when he was named.

While growing up in the Cleveland suburbs, Norm worked several unusual part-time jobs, including washing dishes at the racetrack stables, vending food and drinks at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, setting pins at bowling alleys, and servicing the coin machines owned by his father’s business. Most noteworthy was his Cleveland Plain Dealer paper route, which he eventually grew into three routes, delivering 200 newspapers each day and 300 on Sundays. The checking account Norm opened at age 12 to handle these finances ultimately provided much of the down payment on his first home.

As a child, Norm developed a love of poetry, and while attending Cleveland Heights High School, he actually memorized all 645 lines of Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Even as an adult, when something reminded him of that poem, he would regale everyone with a few verses, to their surprise and amazement. Also during high school, Norm joined the local fraternity BAT, making friends who continued to be his best buddies and supporters for the remainder of his life. Together they shared many adventures and exploits, none of which should ever be shared with their children or exposed in print.

An accounting major at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Norm received a Bachelor of Science in Economics Degree in 1966 (Dean’s List, Beta Alpha Psi) and a Master of Science in Accounting Degree in 1967. At Penn, he joined the fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu (“Sammy”), and, when he was a senior, he met the love of his life, his future wife Judith (nee Leibert), to whom he remained married for 55 years.

During the Viet Nam Era, and while Judi completed her education at Penn, Norm taught accounting and business courses at Community College of Philadelphia and also prepared income tax returns at an accounting firm. After he and Judi moved to San Diego in 1970, he continued his income tax work -- first at Haskins & Sells (now Deloitte-Touche) and later through his own firm. He also decided to keep Judi company while she attended law school, thus acquiring a Juris Doctor Degree (cum laude) in 1977, and in 1984 he was awarded an L.L.M. in Taxation, both from the University of San Diego School of Law.

But Norm never stopped being an educator. For many years, he taught part-time at San Diego State and other universities, along with numerous classes and seminars offered through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the California CPA Education Foundation, and private companies. Over the years, he lectured in 46 states and received several awards for teaching excellence. Norm also served on a number of California and national tax-related committees, including the AICPA Individual Taxation Committee and the AICPA Tax Executive Committee. He gave dozens of speeches and published both articles and course materials relating to taxation and choice of business entities.

Norm hated winter and adored living in La Jolla, a few blocks from the beach. He also loved to travel with his family and became quite expert in accumulating airline miles and hotel points, which he utilized for dozens of international excursions. He and Judi visited all 50 states in the U.S.A., every continent except Antarctica (because he hated cold weather), and 111 of the 195 countries recognized by the United Nations.

Besides travel, Norm’s interests were simple: family, friends, 1950s and 60s rock ‘n roll, attending horse races around the world and, more recently, cheering on the San Diego Padres. He especially relished dining with friends and family, and he ate with noteworthy gusto! Norm also enjoyed word usage, delighting in pointing out grammatical and spelling errors in restaurant menus and published materials. During Covid, he worked the New York Times Spelling Bee with his daughter Abigail until they jointly achieved “Queen Bee” almost every day.

Norm had a warm and generous personality and a wicked, dry wit. He is survived by his wife Judith, his children Timothy and Abigail, his son-in-law Eric Abrams, his granddaughter Annabel, Annabel’s mother Si Nae Lim, and a large extended family, all of whom will miss him terribly.