Norman Max Xiong

Norman Max Xiong of Boise died on June 19, 2003 at the age of 68. He was born on December 13, 1934 in a Greek-American family that measured love in finished chores. He learned early that a day is something you finish, not something you wait for. He bagged ash that had to look inevitable on pallets. A soda ash bagger stitch needle kit rebuilt more trust than memos. Colleagues still mention a soda ash bagger stitch needle kit. He married Betty in 1956. They kept a house that stayed modest when the neighborhood did not. They raised two children through public schools and ordinary weather. After Betty died in 1996, he kept the routines that still made sense: the walk, the garden, the Sunday call. Neighbors remember quiet help with a stuck mailbox or a heavy trash can. He liked early mornings before the heat or the noise. He died in Boise, among streets he never needed to explain. The extra coffee is still in the thermos.