Deacon Donald (Don) Norris, the only African-American clergyman in the Diocese of San Bernardino, passed away on Feb. 28 after a long battle with lung cancer.
Deacon Donald Joseph Norris was born in Washington, D.C., on March 16, 1950. He was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate on May 5, 2005 by Bishop Gerald Barnes.
He was assigned to Our Lady of Lourdes, Montclair from 2005 to 2015, to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Rancho Cucamonga from 2015 to 2019 and to St. Joseph, Fontana from 2019 to 2022.
Aside from his diaconate ministry, Dcn. Don served as Office Manager, Bookkeeper and Business Manager at several parishes in the Diocese. Deacon Don played a key role in the revision of the Diaconate Program, for which he received an award at the Diaconate Convocation on November 18, 2012.
He is survived by his wife, Diane, their children Christopher and Sandra, and grandchildren.