Norbert John “Norby” Mayer Jr. died August 29, 2014. He was born Oct. 26, 1923 to Norbert John Mayer Sr. and Lydia Marie Nelson Mayer. Norbert Sr. died when Norby was quite young and he was then sent to live with various relatives. These included Hulda and Hilmer Hansel in Dalton, Minnesota and Inez and Ed Vincent in Madison, Wisconsin. Cousins Paul Hansel and John Vincent were like brothers to Norb as he grew up.
Norby really got lucky when Lydia married Arthur Nunstedt and they moved to Grand Marais. Art and his father Ed had built Chik Wauk Lodge and this is where Norb and Art’s younger brother Carl became lifelong friends as they worked as guides, fished, hunted, trapped and got in trouble together.
Norb was commissioned into the Army Air Corps, served in the war and also in the reserves. He was discharged as a captain in 1962.
While both were students at the University of Wisconsin, Norb met and married Dorothy Martha Klaus. Three children were born – Martha, John and Peter. Norb and Dorothy helped at Chik Wauk and later moved to Minneapolis. In later years the family moved to Pewaukee, Wisconsin, then Chicago and finally built a home on Turtle Lake near Delavan, Wisconsin.
At least part of each summer was spent in Grand Marais near devil Track Lake, where Art and Lydia had a cabin and spent time fishing and camping in what is now the Boundary Waters. When both Peter and Dorothy died, Norb took off and traveled the world for many years. Eventually he “settled down” between San Antonio for the winter and Grand Marais in the summer months.
In his later years Norb moved into the Veterans Home in King, Wisconsin. He continued to summer in Grand Marais as long as he could hitch a ride and his good friend Smasher would have him. King was good to Norb, with a lot to do including an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. to see the World War II Memorial.
Norb outlived his cousins Paul Hansel and John Vincent, and his dear friend and lifelong buddy Carl Nunstedt. He will be buried next to his wife Dorothy and son Peter at Maple Hill Cemetery near his beloved Grand Marais.
He is survived by his son John (Mary Joy) Mayer and their children Brian (Annalise) Mayer, Bob Mayer, Keith (Anna) Mayer and Stephanie Mayer. He is also survived by his daughter Martha (Paul) Plapp and their children Dorothy (Mike) McConville, Peter (Shelly) Plapp, Katherine (Jason) Holmes, and Elizabeth (Ryan) Colvin. There are an even dozen great-grandchildren: Matthew, James, Ashley, Mikaela, Jacob, Kenny, Hannah, Abby, August, Simon, Greta and Stella.
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