Sandra Kay Norin June 4, 1942 – April 4, 2020

Sandra Kay Norin, age 77, of Sisters died Saturday, April 4, at Country Side Living memory care facility in Redmond of complications from Lewy body disease.

Kay, a fourth generation Oregonian, was born in La Grande, Oregon on June 4, 1942, to James William “Bill” and Ruth Virginia (Murchison) Guthrie. Raised in an Air Force family, Kay grew up in Colorado, England, Alabama, Virginia, Oklahoma and Ohio. Kay graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a BA in political science and subsequently obtained her teaching certificate from San Jose State University.

Kay married Bob Norin at the US Naval Postgraduate School Chapel in Monterey, California in 1966. Kay and Bob lived in New York, Switzerland, and California before settling in Tigard in 1977. Upon retirement they moved to Sisters in 2007.

Kay’s varied career included teaching elementary school and kindergarten, teaching English as a foreign language in Switzerland, drafting for an electronics company, coordinating education conferences, and managing a software training program. She spent two summers working in Yellowstone National Park.

Kay was fiercely proud of her Scottish and Quaker heritage. She traced her ancestry to nine of the 10 original 1659 settlers of Nantucket. Other ancestors came with William Penn in the late 1600s to Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In the mid 1800s her father’s family settled in Colorado and Utah, while her mother’s family came on the Oregon Trail to the Grande Ronde Valley and Baker City.

Kay was pre-deceased by her parents and her brother, David. She is survived by her husband Bob; son Troy (Tracy) of Stirling, Scotland; son Todd (Erica) of Beaverton, Oregon; grand-daughter Alexsandra; sister Janis (John) Truesdell of Fernley, Nevada; and nieces and nephews.

Kay’s family will remain ever grateful to the wonderful caring staff at Country Side Living in Redmond. The family suggests remembrances be made to The Deschutes Land Trust, Partners In Care, or Thelma’s Place in Redmond.

A celebration of Kay’s life will happen when the coronavirus lockdown is lifted. In the meantime, as Kay did, her family suggests you continue to search for the perfect “Perfect Manhattan.”