Norman Leeland Padgett

At an early age, he showed great interest in aviation and earned his private pilot’s license by the time he was eligible. After graduating from Sweetwater High, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1949. With the outbreak of the Korean War, he attended Officer Candidate School and became a commissioned officer in 1951. Norman earned his wings and flew the F9F Panther in support of ground forces over Korea with VMF-311 (Willy Lovers) as part of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. Upon return to California, he rejoined VMA-323 (Death Rattlers) and subsequently, temporary duty at the Test Center at Patuxent River as a test pilot for the FJ-4 Fury. In 1957, he transferred as an exchange pilot with the U.S. Air Force at Moses Lake, Washington. Late in the tour with the Air Force, a medical problem mandated a classification of restricted pilot, and he was assigned to helicopter training. Upon completion of that program, he joined HMR-161 (Greyhawks) in Kaneohe, Hawaii. During the next three years, he earned a college degree in economics and resigned his commission from the Marine Corps in 1961.

Norman then joined the securities business with Dean Witter in San Diego. He spent the next 13 years in investment banking in San Diego, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles before leaving to pursue entrepreneurial ventures of US Racquetball Courts with locations in Thousand Oaks CA, Lexington KY, and Dallas TX and the Boat Shop in Corpus Christi TX which furthered his interest and passion for sailing. In 1980, Norman married Marjorie Parker, his southern belle from Chattanooga TN, in Nassau Bahamas. That same year, he reentered the securities industry in various management roles in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, retiring from Lehman Brothers in 1987.

Shortly thereafter, he and Marjorie left on a two-year sailing voyage on a 37-foot sailboat (Alegria, meaning “happiness”) starting in Los Angeles, “port hopping” down the western coast of Mexico, through the Panama Canal, and eventually permanently docking on the west coast of Florida. For the next 15 years, he was an expert witness for securities industry related cases and fully retired in 2007 in order to do more long-distance bicycle riding and become more active in his service work at Saint Matthews Anglican Church in Riverview.

He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Marjorie, and children Kimberly Shaw (Scott) of Arizona, Kevin (Ellen) of Dallas, Brett (Jeanne) of Chicago, six grandchildren, and one great grandchild. A Mass will occur on Thursday, June 6 at 11:30 a.m. at Church of the Redeemer and burial to follow at 2:00 p.m. at Sarasota National Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project (woundedwarriorproject.org).