Norman Robertson

(Olaf) Norman Robertson, 88, of Ferndale WA, passed away peacefully February 6, 2014 at Alderwood Care Facility in Bellingham Washington.

He was born July 17 1925 in a log cabin to father Olaf and mother Nelle (Ness)Robertson on the Brown Rd farm near Ferndale. Norman graduated from Ferndale High School in 1940 at 16 years old. He is survived by his spouse Doris of 65 years.
Norm lived large in many ways. He was tall(over 6') and strong, with many stories of astonishing feats of strength. He was courageous, adventurous, and an incredibly hard worker taking on challenging circumstances. He dreamed of being an engineer on a marine vessel, which lead him to an early life of adventure in commercial fishing stretching from Prince William Sound Alaska to Costa Rica Central America. After a time in commercial fishing, Norman found many opportunities logging in local forests during the boom years 1950-70. He grew his logging company(Robertson Logging) and became the first to introduce a steel “spar” tree to the local logging industry and a heated operator cab to Skagit yarders. He became a partner of Washington Logging in Bellingham, and managed the merchandising and loading of logs on cargo ships destined for Asia. As times changed so did Norm, building nearly a hundred miles of logging roads in SE Alaska on Prince of Whales Island. Norm loved the logging and road building industry, and had incredible tales experienced in the golden years of logging and advancing equipment. He took pleasure in the lasting relationships built through the years in the industry, culminating in the year 2007 when he was appointed Bull of The Woods at the Deming Logging Show.

Norman also had a generous heart bigger than his appearance. He was a man of faith who gave back abundantly to his community as he had been blessed. He served many years of leadership at the First Baptist Church in Ferndale. Particularly noteworthy was his Sunday School class for boys at First Baptist. Many boys learned their scripture verses by heart as a result of a YMCA swim party or some other special event as a reward. Norm also served many years on the Ferndale Swimming Pool Board, making sure the maintenance was done and the pool ready for another season of kids learning to swim and splash away the summer. He also was a member of the Ferndale City Council, the Ferndale Mayor in the early '90's, and a Whatcom transit Authority board member. Particularly important to Norm was his 34 years of service as a Ferndale School District School Board member. He cherished and took pride in Ferndale Schools, his fellow board members, the school administration and teachers, and the kids that flourished during his tenure.

Norm was survived by wife of 65 years Doris; sons Doug(Jill) Robertson & Tom(Susan) Robertson; daughters Gayle Robertson & Marianne Brudwick; grandchildren Christy Johnson, Lindsay Williams, Maria, Anna, Josiah, & Micah Robertson, Bo, Katie, & Kyler Brudwick; brother Orval Robertson; sisters Beverly Smith & Neva Dennison.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, March 1, 2014, 2:00 PM at the Ferndale High School Auditorium, 5830 Golden Eagle Drive with a reception following in the cafeteria. Private family inurnment Enterprise Cemetery, Ferndale.

Memorial gifts may be sent to Whatcom Community Foundation, 119 Grand Ave. Suite A, Bellingham, WA 98225 with memo to: Robertson Fund. Donations are also accepted online at http://www.whatcomcf.org/