Charles "Les" L Norris

Charles Leslie “Les” Norris, 77, of Newton died on Saturday, August 29, 2026, at MercyOne Newton Medical Center. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, September 4, 2026, at the Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory. The family will greet friends from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service and again after the service with a lunch at the funeral home.  Memorials in Les’ name (checks made to Carol Norris) to be used to support the Jasper County Senior Citizens and other organizations that Les enjoyed may be left at the funeral home.

Les, the son of Ralph and Twylia (Moss) Norris, was born on September 20, 1948, in Newton.  As a child, he lived in numerous communities in Iowa but would refer to the Rock Creek area as home.  In 1966, Les graduated from Grinnell High School and then attended Marshalltown Community College before getting drafted into the Army.  He served his country from 1968-1970. While he was home after basic training, Les was united in marriage with Carol Hubbard on July 25, 1968, in Kellogg.  They spent their first 18 months of marriage living in Hawaii where Les was stationed.

Upon returning from the service, Les worked in Cedar Rapids for a short time before moving back to Jasper County where he would begin his 30-year career at the Maytag Company.  In 2001, he retired as a Maintenance Supervisor.

Following retirement, Les and Carol moved to Guttenberg for eight years where they enjoyed taking the boat out to fish and watch the barges from their kitchen window.  Les also enjoyed woodworking, leather work, shooting at the Izaak Walton League, and archery.  He was a talented pool player and would play three times a week with his friends and occasionally his grandson, Gregory, at the Jasper County Senior Citizens Center. Family was always the center of his world and getting everyone together for Onion Ring Fest and shooting of his hand made cannon on the 4th of July was a favorite annual tradition.   Les was a member of Grace Church in Newton.

Les is survived by his wife, Carol Norris of Newton; children, Sheri (Dan) Hart of Marshalltown, Lisa (Chris) Van Gorp of Prairie City, and Michael (Tara) Norris of Glidden; his grandchildren, Gregory Vasseau (Trisha Van Mannen), Genesee Merical, Oli Hart, Lane (Addison) Hart, Max (Hannah) Van Gorp, Rory (Amber) Van Gorp, Wyatt (Katy) Van Gorp, Ben Van Gorp, Christian Norris, Stephanie (Connor) MacVey, and Dillin Dahlstrom; great-grandchildren, Raegan, Brason, Waelynn, and Rowan; his siblings, Ellen (Darrell) DeVault and Kathy (Doug) Fifer; and his longtime friends, Jay and Judy Stevenson.  He was preceded in death by his parents.

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