Ralph S. Norris

LEEDS – Ralph S. Norris passed away on July 7, 2025 at his home in Leeds. He was born on the family farm in Livermore Falls on June 1, 1943, the last of nine children by his parents, Elwin S. and Verna Cressey Norris. He attended schools in Livermore Falls, Augusta and the University of Maine at Orono.

As a young boy, Ralph hunted, fished and trapped continuously. Ralph was an entrepreneur from the age of 12 when he started a mink farm which raised many hundreds of minks. He also raised chickens and kept sheep and cattle. At the age of 15 he was profiled in a national poultry magazine as the youngest commercial grower of broilers and poulets in the US. By the age of 20 he had raised over 900,000 birds, and had also started work delivering mail, a job he kept for eight years. At the age of 16 Ralph began buying timber land and employed 17 men cutting wood. He then began selling property – by the age of 19 he had secured a Maine Broker’s License and was selling property for others. In his early 20’s he became a State of Maine game warden, a notary public, and a justice of the peace.

As time moved on Ralph gave up most of his jobs to concentrate on his growing real estate business. He mainly bought and sold land but also began building houses. He financed the buyer’s properties himself, so the buyers did not need to go through a bank. He sometimes asked less interest than a bank would, allowing people to purchase his land. During his time, he also bought many apartment buildings as well as two trailer parks.

By the time Ralph was 30 he had written a book on deer hunting, and owned property in 36 towns in Central Maine and in a few townships North. While still in his early 30’s Ralph purchased a Bell helicopter to better manage his more remote properties. During his 30’s he began Constructive Services, a company that provided services to building contractors, in South Paris, Norway Office Supply and a drafting, blueprinting and design service. He started a business packing and selling food for hunters, hikers and adventurers, which was sold under the label “Outdoor Nutrition Pack”. He also designed and sold many thousands of 1 oz. bronze and silver coins to commemorate the beginning of the Maine Moos Hunt.

When Ralph was 35 he began selling off his Maine properties (a process that took years) and began buying hunting ranches in South Carolina, Florida, Arkansas, Nevada, and Texas. He once said it was the best move he ever made.

At the age of 38 Ralph retired and began spending his winters in South Carolina and Texas with his wife, Minnie. After retiring he began to go on hunting trips all over North America. He spent a winter on the San Carlose Apache Indian reservation in Globe, Ariz., and spent time on the Arapaho Indian Reservation in Riverton, Wyo. He was a friend of the American Indians and hunted and trapped predators for them. He also helped them financially for several years. Most of Ralph’s ranches were working cattle and hunting ranches. While living on his Texas ranch he suffered a life-threatening stroke and decided to move back to his camp in Leeds, Maine. While in Leeds he began feeding birds, deer and other wildlife. He planted and maintained 30 acres of wildlife food plots and supplemented this with 20 tons of grain a year.

Ralph was generous to those in need. He donated 50 deer a year from his ranch in Big Wells, Texas to the local needy, and through his life helped hundreds of people buy houses and land. Late in his life after returning to Maine he helped local people who were old and disabled by plowing their driveway with his tractor or filling their oil tanks if they had no other options.

Ralph was a lifetime member of the National Wildlife Federation, the National Rifle Association, the Rocky Mountain Elk Federation and the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine. He also had a lifetime subscription to Fur, Fish and Game.

He was predeceased by his parents; his wife Minnie; his sisters Hilda, Florence, Helen and Marion and his brothers Carroll and William (Bunky) Norris.

He is survived by his brother, Russell of Jay, a sister, Ella of Livermore Falls; and his son, Dean of Livermore Falls.

There will be no funeral services. Interment will be held at the family cemetery at Stricklands, Loop Road, Livermore Falls. A date will be announced once determined.

Family and friends are encouraged to visit Ralph’s Book of Memories at http://www.wilesrc.com to leave messages, stories or photos. Cremation care is provided by Wiles Remembrance – Farmington.

Ralph S. Norris