Norman Mai's Obituary
Norman Mai, 84, of North Ogden, passed away at his home on December 24, 2025. Norman was born in Hays, Kansas in 1941, to farmers, Emil and Marie Mai, and grew up in WaKeeney, Kansas. He was a descendant of the Volga Germans who immigrated from the Volga River region of Russia to WaKeeney in the early 1900s. Although he was an only child, he was surrounded by many aunts, uncles, and cousins that kept his life full of entertainment and companionship. He graduated from Trego Community High School in 1959 and went on to earn a BA in English from Fort Hays State College in 1963. He joined the Air Force in 1964 and while stationed in Japan he met Yoko, who was working as a secretary in his office. They started dating and soon fell in love and were married in Tokyo in 1967. Shortly after, they moved to Whiteman AFB in Missouri, and had two children, Anita and Andrew. After many moves, they eventually landed at Hill AFB, Utah in 1981. He retired from the Air Force as a Captain in 1984, after 20 years of service, and moved to Layton where they lived for 13 years before finally settling in a senior living community in North Ogden.
Norman loved nature and visited many National Parks and National Monuments around Utah and the surrounding states including Zions, Bryce, Cedar Breaks, Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone. He enjoyed hiking the mountain trails around Layton and Ogden and taking pictures of the beautiful scenery. While in Japan, he also hiked and climbed Mount Fuji.
He enjoyed reading newspapers and would clip articles and obituaries that he found interesting and comics that he thought were funny. Some of his favorites were The Far Side, Pickles and Garfield. He had a large music collection with a wide range of genres and styles from Willie Nelson to The Beatles to Yanni and many others. He also had a large collection of books covering a wide range of topics like history, politics, religion, science, and many more.
An aspiring inventor, he liked tinkering with things to "improve" the way they worked. He was also secretly a singer and could be heard singing and humming while doing the dishes or taking a shower. He had a sense of humor that many just didn't get, but if he teased you, he did it out of love.
He loved his fur children and had many over his lifetime, some were strays that he rescued and took into his home. He even rescued two pregnant cats and made sure the kittens found good homes.
Norman loved his family and did his best to show his love and support for them. Norman has four grandkids, Jordan, Braden, Pyper, and Kyver that he loved and adored and was very proud of. He has a daughter-in-law, Hailey and a son-in-law, Michael and a granddaughter-in-law Katlynn (Jordan), all of whom he was very fond of.
We would like to thank Nichole, Amber, Erica, Courtney and Anna Marie from Intermountain Hospice Care for taking such great care of Norman in his final days.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the National Park Foundation or the Humane Society of Utah.
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