Robert Normoyle Obituary

He was one of my favorite teachers. We loved when he would tangent and tell us his stories of putting firecrackers in mailboxes! He really enjoyed teaching and it showed!

I second the comments here about Mr. Normoyle's skill and dedication as a teacher. He had such a unique approach to making American history come alive - and stick with you. And very easy to talk to. Every time I go to a major art museum, I look up all the American art we learned about in American Studies at Jefferson. It's a thrill to see "Snap the Whip" or "Nighthawks" in person and recall how they reflect what America was like in their times. Definitely one of my best and favorite teachers. He will be remembered.

I had your dad as my teacher in the late 70s and he was very influential in how I looked at the world as I grew into adulthood. I remember the GTO well as I babysat for a few of his dates back in the day when getting babysitters out of your American Studies class was not seen as questionable. I friend and I also pranked him by filling his briefcase with M&Ms. His response was priceless. Your Dad was one of a kind.

My sincere condolences. He was the best teacher I ever had, including college and grad school - and such fun to talk with.

Over 45 years since ge was my teacher and my friend and I still talk about him and use what he taught us all the time. I started loving art after memorizing paintings for class. I wish I had worked to reach out and tell him what a great influence he was. Wonderful guy.

So sorry to learn of Bob's passing. He was a great teacher and I kept in contact with him for many years after highschool. RIP Bob

I was one of Mr. Normoyle´s students at Jefferson in the late 80´s. He has always been one of my favorites. He was one of the teachers who inspired me to to become a teacher myself. His lively, engaging teaching style made us want to learn! Condolences to his family. He left a lasting impression and made the world a better place.

My greatest Bob Normoyle memory is the workshop week of 1970. After a week of preparation, and since it was a new school with an all new staff, the teachers organized a social so people could get to know one another. Bob volunteered to give me a lift to that social. As I hung onto the back of that motorcycle with white knuckles, watching as we made our way down 494, whizzing in and out of traffic, i wondered about my transportation choice. I was happy to say we arrived at the social safely. I am not sure how I got home, but i know it wasn't on the back of Bob's motorcycle. As students who have posted here have mentioned, Mr. Normoyle was authentic, intelligent and unique. He had the courage to challenge the administration when he thought things were wrong, especially as it pertained to students. Bob is one of those guys that people will remember forever.

Ken Cordes

Such a great teacher! I just told my social studies students this week about his "agnostic tree" in his classroom. (A small orange pine tree that stayed up all year.) He only wore cowboy boots so my class chipped in and bought him a pair of Nike sneakers. We all purposefully arrived late back to class after our split lunch...after expressing his displeasure with our tardiness, we presented him with his Christmas present. He was shocked and grateful...but I´m pretty sure he never actually wore them. Much more of a boot kind of guy! So blessed to have had many great teachers at JHS! RIP Mr. Normoyle.

He was my most memorable history teacher ever!! He made History come alive and was such a passionate teacher! One of the greats

He was an amazing teacher and an incredible character who connected with us on a whole other level. I´ll never forget him.

He was one of my favorite teachers. My sincere condolences to his family and friends. I had him for history in 10th grade at Jefferson. He was such a gifted teacher. He quelled someone making fun of me when I said I the dictionary after asking what books we liked to read.

One of my favorite teacher at Bloomington Jefferson.

I remember Mr. Normoyle of the 1978-80 years, and speak of him, and his counterpart in AP courses Ms Cornelia Nachbar, often as teo of my most admired teachers. He was an truly authentic guy, wonderful, intellectually gifted, quirky, demanding and funny. He was born to teach and pushed us every chance he could to learn/think/understand much more than we thought possible of ourselves. RIP Mr.Normoyle, you made a big difference in countless young lives.

I loved this man as well! I remember he was a first year teacher when I had him. He had such passion for his content. One day he found a key scratch on his new car. He was rightly so upset. We all felt so terrible. He was a very young teacher and went on to impact thousands of students. RIP Mr. Normoyle.