Thinking of you on your birthday Paul. Miss you much. Your sister Judy...

My earliest memories are of Vaquero Court.  That cul-de-sac felt safe and welcoming, like our own Valencia version of “The Wonder Years,” complete with great neighbors.

Directly across the street was the Norris family:  The boys and their hockey gear; Marlene, who gave my sister and I her beautiful dance costumes to play dress-up in; and Paul.  Paul was so vibrant.  Literally.  His golden-tan skin seemed to reflect his energy, love of life, and charisma.  The specific memories have faded, but I know that when I picture Paul, I seem him with Marlene and my parents chatting and laughing.

I was 6 years old when we left Vaquero Court.  Years later, it was a point of pride to take friends to Pauli’s and explain (over some seriously yummy garlic bread) that I knew the Norris family.

There are childhood memories that root you and bond you to certain people no matter the time or distance.  Paul and his family are a special part of these memories for me.

Valencia in 1984 was a special place to live.  It was full of young families moving into their first homes.  We felt so lucky to move onto Vaquero Ct., across the street from Paul and Marlene.  We each had two kids AND Marlene and I were pregnant!

One of my first memories of Paul was of him holding our baby Lisa.  He would ask me to wake her from her long naps so he could “play” with her.  Of course, I never woke a sleeping child!

Watching Paul and his three boys playing T-ball in the street was a regular occurrence.  Those boys were SO athletic AND cute!  Paul loved coaching them and many other boys and girls in the years to come (including our son, Brian).  I loved Paul’s easy manner with the kids…a quality ALL coaches should strive for.

In 1989, we hosted a Halloween costume party.  Paul came dressed as a Beverly Hills cop and Marlene was Zsa Zsa Gabor.  Paul had a large red hand print on his face from the “infamous slap!”  What a fun couple.  We always enjoyed their company!

       There is a special place in my heart for the Norris family.  My memories of Paul will last my lifetime. He is one of those people you felt fortunate to have as a friend.

Our family met the Norris family when we moved into new homes directly across the street from each other in 1984. The next five years were spent raising our young families together in the driveway, garage, street, back yard, neighborhood pool, park and, occasionally, one house or the other.

Paul taught me that I could coach T-ball and I'll forever be grateful for that. We signed up as co-coaches the first year so our sons could be on the same team. I spent the season watching Paul and learning. He was amazing with the kids- and their parents too. After that, I coached on my own for several years and established bonds and memories with my son I'll cherish always.

Paul was a unique individual and will long be remembered by our family and greatly missed.

When I think of Paul Norris two main words come to mind: soccer and pizza. He coached me my first three years playing soccer, starting at the age of 4. Our teams were the Flames, Rocketeers, and Orange Crush. Paul sparked my love for the game which I played competitively through high school with his son Tanner. I will always appreciate him for that because playing soccer brought me an uncountable number of great memories throughout my childhood and teen years. My love for the game will never cease, and in my mind it will always be traced back to the days with Paul.  I will also always remember my times at his restaurant, Pauli’s. My family loved that place and would eat there every few weeks. Whenever I drive down that part of Valencia Blvd I still think of Pauli’s.  He would always take my brothers and me into the kitchen to make our own pizzas, which was such a joy for us in those days. We felt so special. Paul had a knack for making people feel special. Paul Norris will always hold a special place in my heart and will never be forgotten.

My dad was my first hero and mentor, and taught me so many things it is impossible to list. From my love of sports to how to treat my friends and family, he always had a way of showing me the right thing to do. As my wife, Lindsey, and I prepare for our first child, I will look to my dad as a role model for fatherhood. I will miss him every moment of every day, and love him eternally.

We first met Paul when we moved in across the street from the Norris’s in 1989.  We became fast friends with Paul, Marlene, and their boys – who were often in the street playing baseball, hockey, basketball, etc., much to the delight of our 3 young sons.  He and Marlene would often enlighten us with the experiences they had raising their sons, and provided sound advice that helped keep us sane.

One of our fondest memories of Paul was when he called our sons on Christmas Eve, pretending to be Santa Claus – the boys were so excited to have their very own personal call from “the man in the red suit”!  A few years later, Paul opened Pauli’s, and we would take our boys there regularly for his famous pasta “pillows”.  We’ll always remember the twinkle in Paul’s eyes as he invited our boys to go back to the kitchen to help them make their own pizzas – he seemed to have just as much fun as they did! 

Life always seemed to get in the way of things, and when we moved away, Paul always made sure to see how we were doing.  Even when Paul and Marlene moved to Washington, we were warmly received on a visit there with Paul letting us know that they would soon be back to Valencia – the rain fell on the plain way too much!  And how lucky we all were that they made the decision to come back.  It is obvious from the testaments posted here that Paul was a wonderfully positive influence on the local schools, as well as on the youth basketball community.

 From the very first day that we met Paul, it was incredibly obvious to us that Marlene was the absolute love of his life, and that Nick, Jonathan and Tanner were his light, his pride, and his joy.  Our deepest condolences to his family, and to all of his friends.  Paul will be dearly missed.

With Much Love,

Bob, Kathy, Brandon, Matt and Cory Lewis

Paul had to be one of the first people I met when I came into this world almost 22 years ago (although I may not remember it). He, Marlene, Nick, Jonathan, and Tanner were neighbors with my parents in Valencia when I was born. Me being the second of three boys in our family, it was very easy for my parents to strike a friendship with Paul and his wife. I grew up around Paul, the highlight of my early childhood being every time I walked in to Pauli’s to see that always friendly look on his face. He was very easy to like. As I grew and began attending schools and playing basketball around Santa Clarita, I would see Paul everywhere. He was always easy to talk to and never strayed from doing the right thing whether it be in the classroom or on the basketball court. Still, he knew how to keep things light and a contagious smile never left his face. He taught me a lot growing up about how to live life, enjoying it while knowing when it was time to get to work. When my mom broke the news to me about his passing, it had been almost 6 years since I had last been around Paul. Still, it was hard to hear, and I immediately thought about all the times I had shared with Paul throughout my young life. After reading some stories on here, it is easy to tell that Paul had always been a great mentor and friend to many. He was a great man and will be missed!

I worked with Paul in the Newhall School District for more years than I can count at two different schools.  He was a favorite at both, and I know at others as well. I can't think of a class that didn't ask me to, "Get Mr. Norris!" anytime they heard they would have a substitute. He was always kind, loved by the students, fought over as a sub by the teachers and a positive voice in the lunch room.  But what I remember most about Paul, and will never forget, was a single day in my life over three years ago and how he helped me through my own battle with cancer.

I was undergoing tests to determine if I had breast cancer.  I was a basket case off and on and spoke about the testing with a fellow teacher in the lunchroom who had undergone a breast biopsy before to see what to expect.  Paul was there that day.  He stayed uncharacteristically quiet, eating one of his delicious homemade meals.

 But, a few days later, the last day of school, after the students had gone...a time of day when your typical substitute teacher would be long gone...Paul came by my room.  He asked how I was doing.  He shared with me his story of fighting cancer and offered hope and inspiration to me.  He was so strong, so positive, and so supportive.  When my doctor called with bad news a few hours later, I had hope.

When Paul's cancer came back, we underwent chemotherapy with the same doctor.  We were able to commiserate and he was always quick to give me a smile and the encouragement I needed to hang in there during a very difficult time.  People would tell me how strong I was to be at school, not knowing that he was going through the same thing.  He was able to keep showing up, with that UCLA jacket and winning smile, so most didn't even know he was fighting a huge battle.

The day I was diagnosed with cancer and my first day back at work after being called "cancer free" were two days I will never forget in my life.  Paul was there for both of them.  I am saddened that we couldn't continue to celebrate being survivors together.  He will be missed by all.  He impacted my life incredibly and touched the lives of thousands of children.