Funeral services for 76-year old Norbert “Norb” Liebig are Friday, May 26, 2023 at 1:00 at Our Lady of the Black Hills in Piedmont, SD.
Graveside services will follow at 3:00 at the Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, SD.
Visitation is Thursday, May 25, from 5-7:00 at Our Lady of the Black Hills.
A memorial has been set up to establish a college fund for his 3 grandsons.
Norbert Francis Liebig was born on December 27, 1946, in Redfield, SD, to Zita (Robinson) and Gaar Liebig. He died on May 22, 2023,
The third of five children, Norb grew up in Frankfort, SD, loving to hunt and fish. At Redfield High School, he was Homecoming King his senior year and participated in football, basketball, and track – lettering all 4 years of high school in all 3 sports.
During the summer, Norb played baseball. He pitched, caught, and played 3rd base.
Norb graduated from Redfield High in 1965 and that fall started college at Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen, SD, but after one year, he got his draft notice.
His grades were good enough not to be drafted, but he opted to join the Army anyway and enlisted October 27, 1966. Norb took basic training in Fort Bliss, TX, then went to Fort Eustis, VA, for AIT school on helicopters.
Norb relocated to Fort Benning, GA, in 1967 when the Army was putting together a new Chinook helicopter company with mechanics “attached” to. Norb was one of the mechanics in the 16th TC Detachment) and departed for South Vietnam in 1968 from San Francisco, sailing for 23 days aboard the USS General John Pope.
After six months in Vietnam, he became a crew chief on a Chinook named by its crew “The Filthy Few.” A couple months later, he became a flight engineer assigned to his own helicopter called “Patches.”
As a result of the flight time, Norb was awarded the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters. He departed Vietnam from Camron Bay on May 29, 1969.
Norb’s lifelong dream was to be a State Trooper. In the summer of 1972, the Nebraska State Patrol was taking applications in the summer of 1972 and he applied. Norb was invited to the camp beginning that September and graduated in November.
His first duty assignment was in O’Neill and he spent 8.5 years there until he was promoted to Corporal and relocated to Ainsworth. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1983, then to Lieutenant in 1986. Norb relocated again, this time to Troop D headquarters in North Platte, where he spent the rest of his career.
He began in North Platte in the Traffic Division, but in 1991 took command of the Troop D Drug Division and worked drug investigations and murder-for-hire cases for 7 years.
Using the alias Jacob Vincent Francis, he purchased illegal drugs, worked 7 murder-for-hire cases (2 for the FBI), and spent 6 weeks in three different jails in Nebraska working murder suspects.
In 1998, Norb went back to the traffic division and remained there until he retired from the State Patrol on December 28, 2006, after 34 years. He was such a part of law enforcement and the North Platte Community that the Lincoln County Commissioners declared his last day at work as Norb Liebig Day.
The happiest moment of Norb’s life was finding out he was going to be a father. He became a dad on June 7, 1984, when his one and only daughter, Audra Louise, was born in Lincoln. Weighing in at 5 pounds 6 ounces, she had him wrapped around his finger from the first meeting.
Over the years, he was present at Audra’s volleyball and basketball games and dance team performances. She was attending Chadron State College and on the dance when he retired, allowing him to spend so much time there he became known on campus as Dance Dad.
Audra says he was the most remarkable, caring, understanding, and patient father a girl could ever hope or pray for.
Norb loved his three grandsons more than life itself and attended as many of their baseball, basketball, and football games as he could. He enjoyed helping them with batting, throwing, catching, and shooting, and was a prominent figure in their everyday lives.
Norb was a phenomenal marksman and loved hunting with his family and dogs. He also enjoyed going to the lake on his pontoon and fishing with his grandsons.
Norb will always be remembered for his kind heart, humor, and love of life. His infectious laugh and humility will be missed by all. Norb always tried to make this world a better place. He always lent a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on, and gave the best hugs.
As a man with great integrity, he always did the right thing, was honest, and was true to his word. He genuinely was “one in a million.” Norb left footprints on hundreds of peoples’ hearts and will continue to live on through stories, memories, and good deeds.
Norb will be forever missed by his daughter Audra; son-in-law Gordy; his three grandsons Gage, Kasen, and Gaven; a his sisters Jane (Mel) Crist, Julie (Keith) Richmond, and Joan Persing; his brother Louis (Myrt) Liebig, and his many nieces and nephews along with their children. None will never forget him.
Norb was greeted in Heaven by his mom Zita and father Gaar, along with his brother-in-law Ron, niece Kristi Ann, great-nephew Austin, and great-niece Taylor.