A man killed during an avalanche while skiing in Colorado over the weekend has roots in the Chicago area.
Chris Norris, 28, a married father of two young children, is originally from the Beverly/Evergreen Park area. He died of asphyxiation after he was caught Sunday in a small slide at Mary Jane Ski Area, near the Winter Park Resort, according to Grand County (Colo.) Coroner Brenda Bock.
Resort officials said Norris' body was found in a wooded area on Mary Jane Mountain after he failed to meet up with his companions.
Norris, who moved from the Chicago area to Colorado after going to college there, was married to his college sweetheart, Lynn. They had two children: a 3-1/2-year-old daughter, Indyka, and a 7-week-old son, Sage.
"He was three years younger than me but somebody I looked up to for the way that he put his family first and his kids first and did anything and everything above and beyond to make sure that they had the best possible life they could ever have," Norris' brother, Nick, told NBC Chicago on Wednesday evening.
Norris was a 2002 graduate of Mount Carmel, where he played rugby. After he went to Western State College in Gunnison, Colo., he still would lend a hand to the program when he came home on breaks, his former coach said.
Norris’ mother, Carol, and a brother, Craig, now live in Evergreen Park. Norris’ father, Herbert, died a few years ago.
A teenager died in an avalanche the same day on an expert run in a closed area at Vail Mountain. Colorado’s weak snowpack may lead to increased avalanche danger through the season, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center said. Six people were killed by avalanches in Colorado last ski season, the center said.
Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Horan & McConaty funeral home, 7577 W. 80th Ave. in Arvada, Colo., followed by a funeral service.
Memorial donations for his family can be made to the Christopher Norris Memorial Fund at any Wells Fargo Bank.
