RIP to Dr. Wilbert [‘Skip’] Norman! EMU Faculty of Communication announces the passing of a Great Man.

TRIBUTE BY Allan Langdale

Dear Friends from North Cyprus and Beyond: It is with a very heavy heart that I let you all know of the passing of Dr. Wilbert (‘Skip’) Norman. Skip had been struggling with cancer for some years, beating it back once but suffering a relapse last year. For all of his students at EMU, and all of his friends and colleagues on Cyprus and in other places, I know I speak for them all when I say that Skip was an extraordinary man, creative and generous of heart, and a devoted and excellent teacher. Skip was dedicated to documenting, in both photography and film, the lives of the ordinary people of the Karpas peninsula on Cyprus. I know he had many friends there.

His photography graced many scholarly articles and, even in his eighties, he was working on a film project to compliment his documentary ‘Anatomy of a Dig’ on the archaeological excavations at the Bronze Age Kral Tepesi (King’s Mountain), near Kaleburnu/Galinoporni. He also did amazing photographs of the famous bronze hoard found there.

Skip was one of the most remarkable and kindest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. We used to live in the same apartment building out near Salamis north of Famagusta. We’d go on drives and take pictures together. He had his favorite eateries in Famagusta and it was always fun dining with him, as he was a wonderful conversationalist and had a great sense of humour. I last saw Skip in Washington DC about four years ago. We had lunch in a Lebanese fast food joint. But it might as well have been the world’s best Parisian restaurant, so delighful was the company.

Two years ago I was hitch hiking in north Cyprus and a young man picked me up. We talked for a while and he told me he’d studied Communications at EMU. I asked him if he knew Professor Norman. His face lit up and he said, “The most wonderful teacher in the world!” I’m happy I told Skip that story. I think everyone who met him felt enriched by having had the experience. He loved people, and he was much loved by all of us. I was just called by one of his cousins ten minutes ago and she thought Facebook would be a good way to get the news to everyone in Cyprus. I know it will be a day of mourning there, as it is here.

Skip worked up to the last. He had just got a new teaching job and was ready, as always, to step into a new challenge. He had a new website up, which you can visit to see some of his photo galleries and his film work, at:

http://www.skipnorman.com/skipnorman/Welcome.html


I’m glad he got the site up as an account of his favorite projects over the decades. The world has lost a great and kind man. –Allan Langdale

*Official EMU Announcement
*https://www.facebook.com/facultyofcommunication
*http://www.gazete360.com/Haberler/gundem/skip-norman-hayatini-kaybetti/30960