KINGSTON, R.I. - Jim Norman, the legendary "Voice of the Rams" and longtime University of Rhode Island Sports Information Director, died Tuesday, July 28. He was the loving husband of Roberta Homan Norman for 61 years.

Norman, who was on the air for 34 years, calling 1,286 consecutive radio broadcasts for URI football and men's basketball games, was a mentor and friend to student-athletes, journalism students wishing to break into broadcasting and athletics communication work, and to sportswriters and broadcasters around the country.

Thousands of Rhody fans can probably still remember the sound of excitement in Norman's smooth voice as he opened his broadcasts. He always seemed especially animated on bright fall afternoons when he would open with,  "Hello everyone and welcome to Meade Stadium in Kingston on this beautiful fall afternoon for today's game. I am Jim Norman and we're happy to have you with us today. " And he seemed to be fed by the energy of the standing-room-only crowds for men's basketball at Keaney Gymnasium on many cold winter nights.

The 1957 URI graduate and member of the Rhode Island Journalism Hall of Fame and the Rhode Island Broadcasters Hall of Fame started his more than three decades behind the microphone at WRIU, the University's radio station.

Norman was once just a kid from the village of Perryville in South Kingstown who loved to see Ram legend Ernie Calverley dribble and shoot a basketball in Rodman Hall on what was then the Rhode Island State College campus. He became the voice generations of Rams fans listened to when they couldn't make it to Keaney Gymnasium or Meade Stadium to watch the exploits of players from Sly Williams and Tom Ehrhardt to Art Stephenson and Tom Garrick.

His encyclopedic knowledge of Rams athletics came not only from his time at the microphone, but also from the 22 years he spent as the school's sports information director. With little to no staff, it was Norman's job alone to write the press releases, compile all the statistics and record all the victories in the athletic program's annals.

He was also inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame, the Words Unlimited Hall of Fame, the Providence Gridiron Hall of Fame and the University of Rhode Island Athletic Hall of Fame. The Meade Stadium press box is dedicated in his honor and, in 1995, he was named by The Providence Journal as one of Rhode Island's "Top 40 Most Influential Persons in Sports for the Past 40 Years."

Besides his wife, Jim leaves his children, Laura Norman Wilkinson and her husband, Robert Steven Wilkinson, of Warwick, James Luther Norman and his wife, Carolyn Snow Norman, of Warwick, and David Whitford Norman of Kingston; his sister, Barbara Norman Fracassa of Snug Harbor; and his grandchildren, Abby and Libby Wilkinson and Jim and Katie Norman. Born in Providence in 1935, he was the son of James Eli Norman and Gladys Whitford Norman. A memorial service will be held in the future to celebrate his life. Burial with military honors at Quidnessett Memorial Cemetery will be private.

Read the complete obituary here. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Peace Dale Congregational Church, 261 Columbia St., Peace Dale, RI 02879, or University of Rhode Island Athletics (checks made to the URI Foundation, P.O. Box 1700, Kingston, RI 02881), with a note in the memo line for URI Athletics, or make a secure gift online at www.urifae.org. For guest book and condolences, averystortifuneralhome.com.