Angel On Earth

Norman Donaldson has lived in Colville since 1974. After his retirement in 1982, he began a journey of community service that has impacted countless lives in our small town. An avid supporter of Catholic Charities, Meals on Wheels, the Inland Northwest Blood Bank and the VFW, just to name a few, "Normy", as he is known to his friends, has been volunteering in the area for over 30 years.

Norm's story began on October 8, 1917. Growing up as an only child, he graduated from Pomeroy High School in 1935 and went on to Washington State University. Graduating from WSU in 1940 with a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy, he went to work for Boeing briefly.

With America tottering on the brink of World War II, Norm knew that his drafting was imminent so he enlisted in 1941. He worked his way up the ranks to a corporal in the Army Air Corps, the forerunner to The United States Air Force. Working in logistics, Norm performed support duties to ground troops at home and overseas. He was shipped to Europe on a troop carrier that was sunk on it's return trip. Serving for two years in the European Theater during the war, Norm says that "when they bombs came in , if you could hear them, you were safe, but if you couldn't, then there was a problem!" He was stationed for two years at an airfield in Texas before his discharge from the service in 1945.

Norman got out of the Air Corps and went to work for the Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service. He worked all over Eastern Washington and eventually lived at St. John in Whitman County, where he met his wife, Dorothy Freeman. They were married in 1961.

In 1974 Norm was transferred by the SCS to Colville, where he and Dorothy bought a house on Rae street and became involved in local volunteer organizations and active members of the Colville Community Church. Dorothy passed away in 1977 and in 1982, Norm retired from the Soil Conservation Service and threw himself wholeheartedly into community service and helping out friends in need. With his agricultural background, Norm kept an immaculate yard and rose garden. His neighbors would joke that Norm was ever vigilant, "waiting for a weed to pop up." He was also an avid square dancer locally

Never one to complain and always the picture of positivity, Norm was a tireless force for Meals on Wheels, the local blood bank and many other local organizations for many years. Always ready to give a friend or neighbor a ride, Norm is the kind of guy who just can't say no. In 2014 Norm moved into Parkview Assisted Living where he continued his daily walks around the halls, and he welcomes friends and visitors. Norm is an example to the rest of us of community service and selfless dedication to others. His life has been spent helping friends and strangers in every capacity he could find and he teaches us all a valuable lesson in what is truly important.