Faced with the need to support his family, Norman plunged into commerce at the age of 40, first working on the docks as a ship’s clerk, until he was hired as a temporary clerk with a small importing company, R. Dakin & Company. When the F.B.I. called company president Roger Dakin to suggest that he might not want to hire a “Red,” he reportedly told them to mind their own business. Norman quickly advanced to sales manager, then to vice president for sales, and member of the board of directors, as he helped to build R. Dakin into the second largest firm in the nation in the benign business of plush stuffed animals.
Great story of an interesting life well lived.
RIP.