Norman Wayne Rathfon

I’m going to do my report on someone in particular who is important to me, my dad, Norman Wayne Rathfon. I’m betting most people would do their report on someone who’s famous, or someone who made a big difference in the U.S., or even someone who has survived cancer. But no, I’m doing mine on my dad because he has made a huge difference in my life by being there for me.

Norm Rathfon was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania. His mom's name was Wilma Putnam Rathfon and his dad's name was George Lee Rathfon. They were both born and raised in Bradford, Pennsylvania, also. Norm had one brother named David George Rathfon, and one sister named Nancy Lea Smith (she changed her name when she got married). They, too, were born and raised in Bradford, Pennsylvania.

Norm’s education was like everyone else’s. He attended high school at Bradford High School. He then moved to Montgomery, West Virginia to attend West Virginia Institute of Technology. He majored in printing management, and graduated in 1972.

After Norm graduated from college, he moved to Miami, Florida, where he lived for about a year. He then moved to Tampa, Florida and lived there for eight years. When he resided in Miami and Tampa, he worked at Air Borne Express. He then moved to Kansas City, Missouri.

While living in Kansas City, he met a woman named Jackie Smith. They started to date, and one year later, Jackie brought Norm back to Indiana to meet her parents for Christmas. It was then when he asked Jackie to marry him. They got married on May 12, 1986. They both moved to Springfield, Missouri where they had my brother, Chris, on their anniversary exactly one year later. They then moved to Nebraska where they had my sister and me.

Norm Rathfon may just be a normal person to a stranger walking past him in a store or on the sidewalk, but to me, he is the most fantastic dad I could have asked for. And for that, he’s MY hero.