Norbert C. Sorhaindo

On that bright Tuesday morning of April 22, 1952, in St. Joseph Regina Sorhaindo gave birth of a boy out of her matrimonial union to her husband, Wyllie Sorhaindo, in whom she was well pleased and named him “Norbert”.

He was Regina’s third and penultimate son. Norbert was raised by his Mum Regina in the village of St. Joseph, Dominica and she cared and nurtured him into a decent young boy before her untimely departure from this earth at his teenage age of 16.  She taught him the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church and he has remained an ardent Catholic up till his death. At the time of his mother’s death, Norbert was a student at the prestigious Dominica Grammar School. With perseverance and ambition, his mother’s death did not deter him from his goal to complete his Secondary School studies.  He cried and wept for her but yet he resolved to carry on the armor of endurance.  With the assistance of his father, Wyllie, his aunt Ma Tin and support from his elder brothers, John and Vals, coupled with his determination to succeed, he persevered and did complete his studies.

Life went on.  After high school Norbert got employed at the Public Works Division where he worked for four (4) years in the Engineering Department.  Thereafter, he decided to join the Constabulary and he worked as a member of the Royal Dominica Police Force, as it was then called, for seven years before he migrated to the United States in the late in the late 1970(s).  Upon his arrival in the United States, Norbert decided to further his studies and got enrolled at Kathrine Gibbs School where he spent two years of study and soon thereafter moved on to the Montclair State University where he studied engineering for three years.

On completion of his studies, he got employed at Noble Bio Care where he worked for Nineteen years, becoming one of Noble’s top Engineers.  He was always a hard-working man and very purposeful in life.  Norbert got married to Ursula with whom he shared over two decades of wonderful marital life and that relationship bore two sons: my brother Roby and your humble servant, myself Kevin, being the first. We lived an excellent family life, permit me to say, an admirable one, there was no discord, neither was there any irreparable dispute up and until his departure from this world on 28th day of July 2022. As head of the household, Norbert was a good husband to my mother and a good father to his children.

As a child, he developed a love for sports, particularly cricket.  He was a keen cricketer at both primary and secondary school levels.  He never missed watching a West Indies cricket match and he was at his element whenever West Indies thrived and was saddened when they fell short.  Norbert was very jovial, had an excellent personality and was able to deal with everyone.  Norbert realized that each person is unique, has their own thoughts, their own views on events and things, their life situations are dissimilar to that of others and with this recognition Norbert adapted well to each person’s views, thinking, their perspective and respected their decisions. Hence, the reason why he has never had any difficulty in his dealings with anyone. He was generally embraced by persons he came across and encounter on a daily basis because of his cordiality.  He never wanted anyone to be uncomfortable.  He said nothing to hurt anyone.  Norbert was like the epicenter of charm and unity. This was Norbert. He was very generous and philanthropic always willing to help and extend the olive branch to his family, friends and colleagues. He liked a good joke and would laugh heartily.  He recounted many jovial moments in his life and always laugh at them like it’s now happening.  This was the personality of the man we knew called “Norbert”. 

Soca was one of his favorite music.  He was raised during the Soca upheaval that was taking place during his young adulthood, both in Trinidad & Tobago and in Dominica to a lesser extent and he developed a love for Soca which he never deviated from throughout his life.  Lord Kitchener, Mighty Shadow and Mighty Sparrow are some of his favorite Soca artists.  Norbert’s backyard gardening was his favourite extracurricular activity.  Any person who knew Norbert, knows he loved gardening. His father Wyllie was a farmer and his grandfather, Ogiste Christopher, was also a farmer (both agricultural and livestock) and large landowners.  He cultivated the love for growing his own food and eating what he grows from his father and grandfather.

He was also very handyman and fixed almost everything in the home.  He had a genuine appetite to repair household tools, machine and equipment and saved the family repair costs, in so doing. Norbert had good friends like Albert Rossie with whom he interacted, shared a joke and had a casual drink.

Prior to his departure out of this world, he was unwell but stayed steadfastly with us with great hope until he was ready to go meet his originator and prime mover the almighty father.  We could see the hope on his face which was always present, and this was very encouraging to us, but the Lord Almighty was ready for him; he took him away from this earth as in his sight, Norbert’s journey on earth had ended. Norbert has gone to meet his maker and left behind to continue his legacy and pride are:

His loving widow – Ursula Sorhaindo in New Jersey;

4 Sons – Chris, Kevin and Roby in New Jersey and Albert in the UK;

Two Daughters – Pamela and Salika;

His adopted Son – James Evans

Six Grandchildren – Jamal, Kytana, Kierra, Brianna, Riley and Ryan in New Jersey;

Two Sisters – Shirley Sorhaindo in London and Andrina Sorhaindo in New Jersey;

Two Brothers – Vals Sorhaindo in Dominica and Amon “Zemo” Sorhaindo in New Jersey;

10 Nephews – Bernard, Edson, WeWe, Elstand, Big Ché, Small Ché, Ricky, Branson, Dorian and Danny;

4 Nieces - Happy, Shana and Sammy in New Jersey and Hannah in the UK

The Sorhaindo family in New Jersey, Delices and Jimmit,Dominica;

The Isidore family in St. Joseph, Dominica;

Close relatives – Bernard ‘T-Cokes’ Jolly in St. Joseph, Rebecca Maurinier and Paula Isidore in Guadeloupe, Julietta Charles in St. Croix.

2 Sisters-in-Law -  Eurellia Sorhaindo and Maria Sorhaindo in Jimmit, Dominica;

Many close friends, colleagues and acquaintances in New Jersey and Dominica including Bernadette Philbert in Copthall and Albert Rossie in New York.

We can say that Norbert was an excellent father, wonderful husband, good friend and a unifier.  Permit me to say that a great tree of the Sorhaindo family has fallen.  We treasured him, we admired him, and we valued him.  He had an enormous soul which we will forever cherish.  He has gone in his mortal state, but we are comforted in knowing that his immortal soul continues and as such there is hope that one day, once we make good with our Lord, we will all be reunited with him again in the heavens.

Norbert!   Daddy!    Rest in Eternal Peace!

Oh Lord let your perpetual light shine upon him, May his soul rest in Peace.

I thank you.

If you would like to send a flower arrangement to the Viewing or Service being held on Saturday, August 13th, 2022, please be aware that the deadline for ordering through our online portal is THURSDAY, AUGUST 11th, 2022, AT 2:00 PM; ANY ORDERS PLACED AFTER 08/11/2022, 2:00PM WILL NOT BE PROCESSED

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