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Sad News--Dave Norell Passes

5K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  norellr 
#1 ·
To all who knew him,
On Saturday, April 24th Dave Norell passed away while
participating in a multi-sport race in Boise, Idaho.
He collapsed during the bike section of an event that
featured paddling, cycling and trail running.
It won't be known exactly how or why Dave died until a
coroner's report comes out in the next couple of
weeks. He did, however, have a heart problem that
caused him trouble in high school and might have
contributed to his passing.
Dave was not a politician. He felt that words were
meant to mean something. "Broke, Hungry and Happy" was
a self-invented motto that fit him well. His
exploratory kayaking in the last few seasons on rivers
in Oregon, Idaho and British Colombia was on par with
any boater in North America. He was not getting rich
eating crappy food and putting thousands of miles on
his beat up truck but he was damn pleased to be alive.
I respected the man for his athletic and mental
abilities. He was blessed with a cerebral fortitude
that was a pleasure to observe, especially when he
felt he got the short end of the stick. He just kept
going hard, even if people doubted him.
Dave was sometimes difficult to get to know. He could
piss you off to no end with his eternal energy. But if
you took time to see what he was about he returned the
favor with unrelenting loyalty. I was lucky enough to
be in his rolodex on days when he was scouting another
new classic.
--Joe Carberry
 
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#6 ·
Thank you Chad for your kind words

That's extremely unfortunate. Dave was a great guy, and always exciting to paddle with. You never really knew what to expect, but would always have a great time with him. He'll be missed.
I'm new on here and not sure how to do this, but thank you Chad for your kind words. I don't know if you'll read this as the posting is 3 years old, but I just f ound it googling another friend of David's. Hope all is well for you. Rae Ann, David Norell's mom
 
#4 ·
I got the sad news yesterday morning from Boise. My sister's family were friends of Dave. I first met him when he was only fifteen and a safety kayaker for Cascade Raft. He was an awesome boater at that time! I have a picture of him on the wall from a rafting trip where he was pulling my sister out of the South Fork of the Payette after she took a swim. A few years ago he borrowed a boat from my brother-in-law only to return it a little damaged (he was doing a first descent that my brother-in-law wasn't aware of when he loaned him the boat). It seems so surreal that on Saturday night only hours after this occurred that we were in Silverthorne watching him in the premier of "The White Album". My sympathy goes out to his family and friends.
 
#7 ·
Thank you from David Norell's mom




Thank you for your kind words. I'm slow in finding this website on the internet and just found it today. I would love to know who these connections are, your sister's family and such. You may not read this, but if so I hope you are doing well and still kayaking. Take CAre, David's mom, Rae Ann
 
#5 ·
I met Dave in my first year at Fort Lewis College, in Durango. We lived in the same dorm. When I first met him I thought he seemed a bit crazy, and he was. We would go to the cafeteria early in the morning for breakfast because we had the same early math class. Dave would pile all kinds of stuff onto his plate and mix it up, then put huge amounts of Tabasco on. It looked like someone had hurled on his plate and smelt similar. I asked him how he could eat that crap and his reply, “because it’s good.” I saw him eat that everyday for an entire semester.

He was also good about getting me to the river because I had no car and he did. We would go to the play hole in the evenings and sometimes stay well past dark. Now, I realize that the hole was nothing spectacular to him and he had seen much better. Yet, he was supper stoked to be there. To me, it was amazing because I had just started boating and Dave was nice enough to be giving me some guidance. I think Dave was mainly stoked to see someone begin to see kayaking the way he did. He was also really good about lending me kayaking videos from his personal collection. At first he was a bet hesitant because people wouldn’t give them back right away, but when he found I would return them as soon as I was done watching them, I had unlimited access.

I didn’t know Dave as well as many people did, but from the time I spent with him at school, I found him to be a genuinely good person. I just wish they made more like him. He will be missed.
 
#8 ·
Thank you Timmy, from David Norell's mom

I met Dave in my first year at Fort Lewis College, in Durango. We lived in the same dorm. When I first met him I thought he seemed a bit crazy, and he was. We would go to the cafeteria early in the morning for breakfast because we had the same early math class. Dave would pile all kinds of stuff onto his plate and mix it up, then put huge amounts of Tabasco on. It looked like someone had hurled on his plate and smelt similar. I asked him how he could eat that crap and his reply, “because it’s good.” I saw him eat that everyday for an entire semester.

He was also good about getting me to the river because I had no car and he did. We would go to the play hole in the evenings and sometimes stay well past dark. Now, I realize that the hole was nothing spectacular to him and he had seen much better. Yet, he was supper stoked to be there. To me, it was amazing because I had just started boating and Dave was nice enough to be giving me some guidance. I think Dave was mainly stoked to see someone begin to see kayaking the way he did. He was also really good about lending me kayaking videos from his personal collection. At first he was a bet hesitant because people wouldn’t give them back right away, but when he found I would return them as soon as I was done watching them, I had unlimited access.

I didn’t know Dave as well as many people did, but from the time I spent with him at school, I found him to be a genuinely good person. I just wish they made more like him. He will be missed.
Thank you for your kind words! I had to laugh about the tabasco story, as well I knew that David peppered everything I made, heavily with spices such as Mrs. Dash. Even something he loved I made with chili powder already in it. He was a hoot. I miss him dearly. Even though he only had 1 semester at Ft. Lewis, it spear headed his dedication to spend the rest of his life kayaking--and he lived it with gusto and kayaked the world--even though his life was destined to be short, he packed more fun and adventure into those almost 25 years than most people aged 70! I'd love to hear more about you and I see I wasn't allowed to put my email address on here. You may not even see this, as its been 3 years. Take care, Rae Ann, DAvid Norell's mom
 
#9 ·
Rae Ann,

If you place the cursor over Timmy's name on the post and click it will bring you to his "member page." From there you can click on the link that says pm this user (private message). This usually triggers an automated email sent to the address he used when he registered. This may be a more reliable way to get in touch with him. Good luck, Matt
 
#10 ·
thank you Matt

Rae Ann,

If you place the cursor over Timmy's name on the post and click it will bring you to his "member page." From there you can click on the link that says pm this user (private message). This usually triggers an automated email sent to the address he used when he registered. This may be a more reliable way to get in touch with him. Good luck, Matt
Thanks,Matt I'll give that a try.
 
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