Richard Norpel Sr.

NORPEL, FONDELL

Posted By: Barbara Gehlsen Nugent (email)
Date: 1/14/2011 at 16:36:25

Richard Norpel Sr.: Ex-legislator helped bridge gaps: Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice
Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA) - May 26, 2007

Deceased Name: Richard Norpel Sr.: Ex-legislator helped bridge gaps

BELLEVUE, Iowa -- After a colorful career in state and local politics, Richard Norpel Sr. settled into an active retirement back in his hometown of Bellevue, where lots of youngsters knew him as "Grandpa Norpel." Norpel, 88, died Thursday at home of complications from pancreatitis.

Norpel, a Democrat, served as a state representative from 1971 to 1974 and as a state senator from 1975 to 1976. One of his proudest accomplishments was securing funding for the Dubuque-Wisconsin bridge as a senator. Norpel was chosen to cut the ribbon on the newly completed bridge during its dedication in August 1982.

"He always thought that bridge should have been named after him," said Tom Roth, of Bellevue.

Roth was Bellevue city administrator during some of the nine years Norpel was a city councilman, in the 1980s and 1990s.

"I've got great memories of Rich. He was genuinely considerate and generous," Roth said. "Rich was fiercely independent and he often took a contrary position. He'd get all wound up and get everyone all excited, then he'd say, 'Let's go out for a beer.' It was all over."

Norpel prided himself on that independent streak that defined his political career. Norpel was also a Jackson County supervisor from 1977 to 1980.

"Maybe I was a little cocky, but unless you have some cockiness in you, you're not a good legislator," he once told a reporter.

"Oh yes. Dick had his own way of getting things done. He knew how to twist arms if he had to," said former Dubuque Mayor Jim Brady. "He was a good man. We could use his help from heaven to get the new Julien Dubuque Bridge off the ground."

"Dad always considered himself a man of action. If constituents came to him with a request he thought had merit, he knew the people to call and picked up the phone immediately and got it done," said his daughter Mary Norpel, of Dubuque.

On Friday, she and others of Richard Norpel's six children were at his home, putting things in order and remembering their father's legacy.

Steve Norpel, of Bellevue, recalled that his father was "fair to everyone."

"Kids from all over loved to come by because he always kept candy by his chair and he was famous for his homemade fudge," said daughter Suzanne Fondell, of Bellevue.

Norpel was also a businessman. For many years, he and his wife Janaan owned and operated Norpel's Market, the Riverview Hotel and Norpel's Insurance Company, all in Bellevue. In 1968, he was named Bellevue's outstanding businessman. Thirty years later, he was named the city's volunteer of the year.

Visitation for Richard Norpel will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 29, at Kingery-Lemke Funeral Home in Bellevue. His funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 30, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Bellevue, where Norpel was a lifelong member.

Author: MARY NEVANS-PEDERSON TH staff writer
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