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KEY WEST, Fla. – Cmdr. Jarvis Norman “Norm” Messer, USN Ret., of Key West, Fla., joined that great cloud of witnesses described in Hebrews 12 on Monday, June 25, 2012.
He was born Feb. 8, 1929, in Chicago to Naomi and Jarvis Messer of Polo. Norm graduated from Polo High School in 1947, the University of Denver in 1951 with a bachelor of science in chemistry, and the Navy Officer Candidate School in 1952. He proudly served in the Navy until his retirement in 1979.
This service included sea and shore duty assignments, culminating in tours as commanding officer of the Navy Chemical Unit at Fort McClellan, Ala., executive officer of the USS Corry, USS Cascade and the Naval Base at Key West; and communications officer of the Ninth Naval District at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois. After retiring from the Navy, he managed hospital engineering plants in Rockford and Waukegan.
Norm relished sailing, read widely and thoroughly enjoyed family gatherings in Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida and Tennessee. He committed his life to Christ in 1988, at First Baptist Church of Polo, and this relationship sustained him through the rest of his life.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara of Key West; sister, Bernadyne (William) Snook of Beaver Dam, Wis.; brother, Ronald (Patricia) Messer of North Marshfield, Mass.; sons, Stephen (Betty) Messer of Fort Wayne, Ind., and Nathaniel (Rene) Messer of Lake Villa; daughters, Laura (Joe Lupien) Messer of Alexandria, N.H., Aimee (Joe) Arreguin of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., Molly Messer of Miami, Saundra (Mark) Fitzpatrick of Pleasant Prairie, and Dawn Dykes of Ocala, Fla.; grandson, Richard Cormack of Key West; and 11 other grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Visitation will be from 9 to 10 a.m., followed by services at 10 a.m., Saturday at Polo Family Funeral Home. Burial will be at Fairmount Cemetery in Polo.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (www.nmcrs.org) or Sail to Prevail (www.sailtoprevail.org) will be greatly appreciated.
Visit www.polofamilyfuneralhome.com to send condolences.