Downtown Forsyth turns out to say goodbye to fallen deputy

As the funeral procession for Deputy Michael Norris wound through downtown Forsyth on Friday, hundreds of locals lined the streets to pay their respects.

Along North Lee Street, Susan Jenkins, whose brother-in-law had been Norris’ scoutmaster when Norris was a boy, said the turnout “comes from everybody’s heart.”

Down the road at the Taco Bell, the marquee read: “RIP Deputy Norris.”

On the courthouse square, seven flags flapped at half-staff as Tammy Brady and her little boy stood near a veterans’ memorial, beside a bench with “Freedom Is Not Free” on it.

“It’s a sad day,” she said. “But a good day to see all these people out. He deserved nothing less.”

When the horse-drawn caisson carrying Norris’ body eased through the heart of town, skirting the courthouse where earlier this week his accused killer was charged, there was silence.

There was a breeze, but some onlookers along North Lee cooled themselves in the 80-degree, blue-sky mugginess with hand fans that a man at a finance company was handing out.

Some in the crowd wore suits, ties. Others were in shorts, jeans, T-shirts, flip-flops. It was a come-as-you-are scene, heartfelt small-town America. Blue ribbons fluttered.

The gathering reminded a woman in her 80s of the funeral for President John F. Kennedy.

“The coming together,” said Betty Hill, 85, of Forsyth.

Hill’s daughter and Norris’ mother, Fran, were once cheerleaders together at the old Monroe Academy.

“Today,” Hill went on, “we don’t care if we’re Bulldogs or Gators or Republicans or Democrats. Today we are coming together, treating each other like we should every day. ... Something good is gonna come from this. I feel it in my bones.”

To contact writer Joe Kovac Jr., call 744-4397.

This story was originally published September 19, 2014 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Downtown Forsyth turns out to say goodbye to fallen deputy ."