Norman was born Sept. 9, 1923, in rural Ceylon, Minn., to Gilbert and Annie (Poppe) Kittleson. He attended country school through 8th grade in Ceylon, walking the two miles or skating there on Ten Mile Creek. He attended high school in Ceylon, graduating in 1941. He then farmed with his dad and brothers, until joining the U.S. Army in late 1945, following his brother Truman’s release from a German prison camp at the end of WW II. He was deployed to Japan in 1946, to serve during the post-war occupation. While in Japan, he was given a ride from General Eichelberger and saluted General MacArthur when meeting him on the street. He also climbed Mount Fuji with his buddy Butch. While serving in the Army he was awarded the Army of Occupation Medal, World War II Victory Medal and the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre Ribbon. He returned home in 1947 to begin farming north of Sherburn and to court the love of his life, LaVonne Meister. On Oct. 3, 1948, Norman and LaVonne “Pennie” Meister were married at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Dunnell, Minn. They farmed together north of Sherburn for the next 38 years, raising their three children and transforming their home from an 1884 stagecoach inn to a Greek Revival Architecture home. Norman designed and built the four columns on the front of the home as well as the fireplace and winding staircase inside. Norman had innate talents as a musician, architect, and carpenter; despite no formal training in these areas. He grew up in a musical family, had a beautiful singing voice and was self-taught in playing first the harmonica, then the piano, guitar, and mandolin. He was a member of the well-known family band “Millie and the Saddle Pals” (Truman, Ted, Norman and Millie) in the 1950s, playing every Saturday morning on KSUM in Fairmont, Minn. They were inducted into the Mid-America Music Hall of Fame in 2009. In the 1960’s he was the lead singer and guitarist in “The Birds” and in the early 1970’s started a country western band called “Country, Sir.” Norman sang and played for hundreds of wedding and anniversary dances in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa through 1992. Many lifelong friendships were formed with his “followers.” From 1988-1992, Norman and LaVonne transformed their home into the “Four Columns Inn” Bed and Breakfast, which opened in November 1992. They were gracious hosts for 22 years to hundreds of guests from around the nation and the world. They enjoyed giving guests a tour of “the Inn” and the many antiques they had collected over the years, while sharing the history of the home and the area. In 2008, Norman participated in the Honor Flight to Washington D.C. Following the closure of the “B & B,” Norman continued to play the piano for residents of several nursing homes in the area. His final “concert” was in February 2020, right before the pandemic. Wherever he played a piano, people would gather around and enjoy his heartfelt music. Norman was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Left to cherish his memory are his wife of nearly 75 years, LaVonne Kittleson; his three children, Mark and Judy Kittleson of Davis, Calif., Marilyn and Loren Deling of Rochester, Minn. and Scott and Marjorie Kittleson of Sherburn, Minn.; his grandchildren, Ashlie (Michael), Natalie (Patrick), Lindsay (Chris), Bryce (Ashleigh), Kyle (Kiara) and Marisa (Alex); great-grandchildren, Carter, Larkin, Sawyer, Nolah, Adalyn and Lyla; two sisters, Evangeline Barber of Fairmont, Minn. and Esther O’Sell of Chaska, Minn.; sisters-in-law, Shirley Kittleson of Flagstaff, Ariz., and Shirley Meister of Riverside, Calif.; several cousins and numerous nieces and nephews. Norman was preceded in death by his parents, Gilbert and Annie Kittleson; siblings, Herbert (Fairy), Frances, Nina, Enoch (Margaret), Truman (Millie), Fern, Ted (Opal), Ann (Jim) Scholl and Gilbert Jr., brothers-in-law, Wayne Barber, Jon O’Sell and Jim Scholl; and granddaughter, Chelsea Deling. Memorials are preferred to the Parkinson’s Foundation at parkinson.org or to Honor Flight at honorflight.org.

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]