KEY WEST, Fla. – Cmdr. Jarvis Norman “Norm” Messer, USN Ret., of Key West, Fla., joined that great cloud of witnesses described in Hebrews 12 on Monday, June 25, 2012. 

He was born Feb. 8, 1929, in Chicago to Naomi and Jarvis Messer of Polo. Norm graduated from Polo High School in 1947, the University of Denver in 1951 with a bachelor of science in chemistry, and the Navy Officer Candidate School in 1952. He proudly served in the Navy until his retirement in 1979. 

This service included sea and shore duty assignments, culminating in tours as commanding officer of the Navy Chemical Unit at Fort McClellan, Ala., executive officer of the USS Corry, USS Cascade and the Naval Base at Key West; and communications officer of the Ninth Naval District at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois. After retiring from the Navy, he managed hospital engineering plants in Rockford and Waukegan.