As an active member of the community and an employee/columnist for the Jasper News, Lillian Norris has met many people in the county. Many of those friends joined her family at the Jasper Presbyterian Church on Sunday, Aug. 26, to help her celebrate her 80th birthday.

Mrs. Norris moved to Jasper in 1959 with her husband, Dr. Wade Norris, who worked with Dr. William Mitchell and eventually acquired the practice. She stayed busy raising their two children, Benjy (now Dr. Ben) and Mary Beth (Windham).

When the children graduated, Mrs. Norris decided to find something to do. She began working at the Jasper News as a receptionist in the early 1980s. At that the time, the office was located in the “Old Bank” on the corner of Hatley St. and SW Central Ave. When the office moved to 1st Ave. (where Brown’s Florist is located now), she moved too.

When Virgie Hyman, a columnist for the paper, was sick, Mrs. Norris filled in for her. Then in 1983, Mrs. Norris became the social editor and reported on weddings, births, family visits, church functions and other community events. She also began writing a weekly social news column called “Lillian Norris,” which evolved into the current “Norris Notes.”

In December 1986, Mrs. Norris was appointed the managing editor. The office relocated to its present location in the Bank of America on NE 2nd Ave. in July 1989. She requested the archives for the Jasper News be moved from the Suwannee Democrat office in Live Oak to the office in Jasper. Her request was well-timed because not long after the archives were moved, the office in Live Oak burned. Her small request saved years of Hamilton County history from going up in smoke.

Mrs. Norris left the Jasper News in November 1989. But she continued writing her column, “Norris Notes,” and still reports on important events in the community.

When Mrs. Norris attended high school in Franklin, NC, she was a member of the Journalism Club and the editor of the school newspaper. Her class predicted she would become the editor of a large New York City newspaper.

At her 50-year class reunion, Mrs. Norris reminded her fellow students of the prediction. “I’ve done better than that – I’ve been the editor of the Jasper News,” she told them.

When asked about her favorite part of working for the newspaper, Mrs. Norris said, “My favorite part of working for the paper is the people – I love the people. I love Jasper and Hamilton County.”