Jeanie Norris Trigg

Jeanie Norris Trigg, age 79, of Santa Cruz County, California, passed away peacefully on July 30, 2026 after a long battle with abdominal cancer. She was in her apartment at Brookdale Senior Living in Scotts Valley, California surrounded by her children and family members.

Born October 30, 1946 in Long Prairie, Minnesota, Jeanie was the youngest of six children of Edmond Hand Norris and Grace Bainbridge Norris (maiden name Grace Dorothy Bainbridge). She graduated from Long Prairie High School in 1964, attended Grinnell College in Iowa before transferring to the University of Minnesota where she received her bachelor’s degree in 1968, and went on to earn a master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 1987.

At Grinnell, Jeanie met Paul Trigg from Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan and they married on December 30, 1966 in Long Prairie, settling down in Appleton, Wisconsin. Together, they had three children, Michael in 1969, Sarah in 1973, and Kathryn in 1985. Jeanie and Paul divorced in 1997, and she moved to Madison, Wisconsin in 2000.

Jeanie loved working with children. She started as a history teacher at Xavier High School in Appleton in 1981. Then in 1986, after her degree in special education, she taught students with learning differences in the Appleton Public School System, including Horizons Elementary, for 14 years—also teaching English as a Second Language, Government, and Geography over that time. She continued to serve as a substitute teacher, tutor, and nanny the rest of her life.

She was always quick with a laugh and friendly to everyone she met. One of her passions was family memories, and she collected countless photos, videos, journals, and other memorabilia of her family’s lives and accomplishments. Community involvement was another priority for her. In addition to serving as a public school teacher, she was involved in the Unitarian Universalist Church, and served briefly on the Eau Claire City Council when the family lived in Eau Claire, Wisconsin from 1977-1979.

In 2005, she relocated from Madison to the San Francisco Bay Area to be a caregiver for her three grandchildren and a nanny for several other families. During her 21 years in California, she lived in Palo Alto, Redwood City, Los Gatos, and eventually Santa Cruz, California and enjoyed an active social life among her community of friends and family members.

Jeanie is survived by her former husband, Paul Trigg of Appleton, Wisconsin, and her three children, Michael Trigg (daughter-in-law Leslie Trigg and grandsons Cole Trigg and Chase Trigg) of Portola Valley, California, Sarah Trigg of New York, New York, and Kathryn Trigg (son-in-law Agustin Gaytan and granddaughter Lena Gaytan) of Santa Cruz, California, as well as many nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends.

Jeanie was preceded in death by her parents, Edmond and Grace Norris; sisters Mary Rosenow, Nell Dobbs, and Susan Ossian; and brothers, Paul Norris and Edmond Norris, Jr..

A memorial service will be held Saturday, September 26 at The Vineyard at Rockridge in Soquel, California. In lieu of flowers, donations in Jeanie’s memory may be made to Native Animal Rescue of Santa Cruz https://nativeanimalrescue.org/ or Santa Cruz Gardens Home and School Club https://scghomeandschoolclub.org/