NORRIS M. TOLLEFSON, LCDR, USN
Norris Tollefson '51
Lucky Bag
From the 1951 Lucky Bag:
Norris Mohn Tollefson
Huron, South Dakota
From the "Pheasant Capital of the World" . . . said of him in his high school annual, 1944, "Greater men than I have lived, but I doubt it" . . . two years at the University of South Dakota . . . majored in pinball and bridge . . . fraternity parties consumed most of his time . . . passed with the aid of fraternity files . . . got his social start as a sorority houseboy . . . enlisted in the Navy in 1946 . . . first class SCTM, Corpus Christi, Texas . . . thinks small chenille radiators should be awarded for extra curricular activities . . . received a citation for "Bravery in the face of a slide rule" . . . member of the NA choir plebe and youngster years . . . also NA 10 . . . headed for Navy Air.
Norris Mohn Tollefson
Huron, South Dakota
From the "Pheasant Capital of the World" . . . said of him in his high school annual, 1944, "Greater men than I have lived, but I doubt it" . . . two years at the University of South Dakota . . . majored in pinball and bridge . . . fraternity parties consumed most of his time . . . passed with the aid of fraternity files . . . got his social start as a sorority houseboy . . . enlisted in the Navy in 1946 . . . first class SCTM, Corpus Christi, Texas . . . thinks small chenille radiators should be awarded for extra curricular activities . . . received a citation for "Bravery in the face of a slide rule" . . . member of the NA choir plebe and youngster years . . . also NA 10 . . . headed for Navy Air.
Loss
Norris was lost on May 26, 1963 when the S2F Tracker he was piloting crashed about 150 miles south of Honolulu, Hawaii. The three others aboard were also killed; they were members of Air Anti-Submarine Squadron (VS) 21.
Biography
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Norris was born in Chicago and was educated at Huron High School, South Dakota, where he played the trombone in the orchestra. For two years, he attended the University of South Dakota, Vermilion, and was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He received his appointment to the Naval Academy in June 1947. Two days after graduation, on June 3, he married Frances Wuebbens, the daughter of the senior chaplain at Annapolis.
He spent a year in flight training at Pensacola, after which he served in the Atlantic area. For over two years, he was an instructor in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps at Harvard University. Following this, he was aide-de-camp to an admiral in San Diego, 1961-1962, and served as the admiral’s personal pilot. In February 1963, he was serving with Air Anti-Submarine Squadron 21 which was part of a combined force of 20 ships engaged in Exercise Saddle Blanket.
His parents were the Rev. and Mrs. Sander Tollefson of Trinity Lutheran Church in Rapid City, South Dakota. His brothers were Reginald and the Rev. Gordon Tollefson. He was also survived by his wife and their children Norris, Jr., Paula, and 3-week-old Carla. Frances, her brother Chaplain Everette Wuebbens of the staff at the Naval Academy, and her mother, Mrs. Everette Wuebbens, Sr., a teacher at the Naval Academy, attended the placement of Norris’ marker at Arlington Cemetery.
Related Articles
Richard Farrington '59 was also lost in this crash.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
