Smoke Signals 3
JUNE1,2011
TirilbaD EDdeir Marce Noirwesti walEis odd aft 2
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signal etaff writer
Tribal Elder Marcellus "Marce"
Norwest walked on Sunday, May
22, in McMinnville at the age of
82.
Norwest is being honored by fel
low veterans and Tribal members
for a life of service to the Confeder
ated Tribes of Grand Ronde as the
Forest Patrol officer and to the na
tion as a Korean War veteran.
Norwest was born May 8, 1929,
in the Klamath Agency, a tiny town
in southern Oregon just northwest
of Chiloquin. He lived on a 1,500
acre ranch with his parents until
moving to Grand Ronde, where he
spent his entire life.
He entered the U.S. Army in
the early 1950s and served in the
Korean War as a machine gunner
with the 532nd Combat Engineers,
firing 50-caliber cannons. He also
served as a heavy equipment op
erator in other locations, such as
Fort Lewis, Wash., and Camp San
Luis Obispo and Fort Ord in Cali
fornia. He also served in Germany
as a military policeman and earned
eight medals and ribbons during
his service.
Upon returning to Grand Ronde,
he worked for the Tribe for 18
years, part of that as Forest Patrol
officer for the Natural Resources
Division.
"They talk about people in the
woods needing protection," said
Tribal Council Vice Chair Reyn
Leno, "but I always thought that
Marce was mean enough that he
didn't need any protection."
Norwest usually was master
of ceremonies at the Tribe's an
nual Memorial Day ceremonies,
but this year the Veterans' Special
Event Board asked Leno to do the
honors.
"I said, You better clear that with
Marce,' " said Leno.
Tribal member and longtime
Norwest friend Brent Merrill saw
Norwest "grow from being feared to
being respected" during his years in
Grand Ronde.
Norwest was one of the found
ing members of the Grand Ronde
hi,
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Smoke Signals file photos
Tribal Elder Marc Norwest participates in Grand Entry at the 2006 Veterans
Powwow. Norwest, who initiated the Veterans Powwow, walked on Sunday, May 22.
chapter of the Northwest Indian
Veterans Association and became
a member of the West Valley Vet
erans Honor Guard.
He also was a driving force for
construction of the West Valley
Veterans' Memorial located on the
Grand Ronde Tribal campus.
"He had the respect of the veter
ans and the community," Merrill
said, "so he often spoke to the Tribal
Council when we (West Valley
Veterans Memorial Committee)
needed something. He always got
what we needed." Merrill was the
committee's vice president.
Leno remembers Norwest as "a
committed, dedicated Tribal mem
ber, and a good friend to many. He
set the standard for the Veterans
Honor Guard. He initiated the Vet
erans Powwow. He really put us on
the map as far as people requesting
our Honor Guard."
Norwest served Forest Patrol offi
cer on Tribal lands after the federal
government returned some of the
original Grand Ronde Reservation
in the late 1980s.
"He did his job very well," said
Tribal member and Natural Re-
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sources Division Manager Michael
Wilson, who supervised Norwest
in the years before Norwest retired
in 2009.
"He took a great deal of pride in
his role," said Wilson. "He was very
dedicated to his job."
Norwest was honored by the
Tribe and local veterans' groups in
January 2009 after he retired to
fight pancreatic cancer.
Merrill also remembered Nor
west's friendship.
"Marce always looked out for me,"
said Merrill. "As a young man fresh
out of college and working here on
the reservation in my first career
type job, he went out of his way to
show me respect and kindness. He
told me stories about my grandfa
ther (former Tribal Elder Fremond
Bean) and of their adventures as
running buddies in their younger
years."
"All I can say," said Tribal Elder
Dakota Whitecloud, "is that I will
never forget him."
Speaking of his Forest Patrol
work, Whitecloud added, "If any
one knew where the deer and elk
hung out, it was Marce, but he told
me he would rather
go hunting with a
camera because they
were so beautiful;
even though he loved
venison and elk meat
as much as anyone.
"Marce was prob
ably one of the most
highly respected El-
Tribal Elder Marce
Norwest receives
a hug and kiss
from his daughter,
Tribal member
LaDonna Norwest,
after an all
veterans tribute
to Marce
presented by
the West Valley
veterans on Jan.
10, 2009, in the
Tribal gymnasium.
ders I've ever known and
I'm proud to have been his
friend."
"I knew him as a business
man, a generous man and a
stern man," said Tribal Elder
Gene LaBonte, former chair
man of the Governor's Task
Force on Veterans Affairs
and longtime member of the
Grand Ronde Honor Guard.
"He helped people and fami
lies in hard times with good
sums of money. As a Forest
Patrol officer, he was fearless.
He had binoculars and always
knew the good vantage points.
He took care of (wife) Sharon
and she took care of him. He
will be missed."
"Two things I can tell you
about Marce that impressed
me the most," said Jim Willis,
director of the Oregon Depart
ment of Veterans Affairs.
"One, his private dignity. He
was a man of few words. And
two, his commitment to young peo
ple. He was always setting a good
example for youth, and had good
expectations for them, for their
future. He did that very eloquently
and well.
"I'm positive there are Tribal
members that were positively af
fected by Marce that we'll never
even know about. That was the
kind of guy he was. He was just
always somebody you could hold
up, who you knew would do the
right thing. And he did the right
thing when nobody was looking.
He was not a man looking for rec
ognition." "The legacy that he created,"
said Grand Ronde Honor Guard
member and Veterans Powwow
Chairman Chris Tinney (Lower
Eastern Cherokee), "the standards
that he had set were still in play
when he retired, and we hope they
will continue to be in play.
"I always tried to listen to what
he had to say," said Tinney. "He
didn't have trifle conversations.
There was always some life lesson
in his words."
Tinney took over leadership of the
Veterans Powwow a few years after
Norwest retired. That first year,
things seemed to have gone well
under Tinney's leadership, but then
Norwest called him after the event
and complimented him on the job.
"That was the only critique I
needed to hear," said Tinney.
The Veterans Powwow Commit
tee has renamed the Veterans Pow
wow in Norwest's honor. Starting
this summer, it will be called The
Marcellus Norwest Memorial Vet
erans Powwow.
A funeral service was held for
Norwest on Friday, May 27, in the
Tribal gymnasium and interment
followed in the Grand Ronde Tribal
cemetery.
Norwest is survived by his wife of
45 years, Sharon; sisters and Tribal
Elders Marcella "Deedee" Selwyn
and Marilee Davis Norwest; a half
brother, Duane Wheeler; and seven
children. Four children preceded
him in death.
A Walking On notice is on Page 17
of this issue of Smoke Signals.