Couple to retire together after working as Tyler ISD educators for 20 years

Published 5:45 am Wednesday, May 4, 2022

It was 1991 when Limuel Norris first met Amy.

He taught U.S. history while she taught math right across from each other’s classrooms at a school in New Mexico. The couple began dating and got married in 1994.

Now, they have been educators at Tyler ISD for 20 years and are set to retire together at the end of the school year.

After having two daughters, the couple was looking for a good place to raise a family and moved to Tyler in 2001. They continued to be a power duo under the same school roof at what is now called Tyler Legacy High School.

Both eventually became department chairs of their subject areas at Tyler Legacy.

Limuel said he has been eligible to retire for several years but wanted to wait until he could retire alongside his wife.

There are a lot of benefits of working with your significant other, if you ask Limuel and Amy. Amy said knowing she can find her husband across the building brings comfort after a hard day.

“If it’s been a bad day, I’ll go in (the classroom) and go talk to him for a few minutes. He’s there,” she said.

The couple said with different schedules to follow on a daily basis, they didn’t always see each other that much during the school day. Now, in their retirement, the Norrises plan to spend more time with each other and enjoy their free time.

“We’ve watched people retire and not even get to enjoy it. And I said now’s the time. The girls are finishing college, they don’t depend on us anymore,” Amy said. “Now seems to be the time to just sort of relax.”

The couple plans to spend time traveling, and Amy said the most exciting thing about that is getting to travel whenever and not having to wait until the school year ends.

“For the first time, we’re actually going to travel in September, because we’ve only ever vacationed during the summer,” she said.

Other things the couple looks forward to after retiring include visiting historical landmarks across the country, road tripping, looking at antiques and joining church groups since they’ll finally have time.

Both are grateful for Tyler Legacy and all the faculty members they’ve met on campus.

“I can leave my department knowing that it’s in good hands because of the people that are in it,” Limuel said.

Amy also has a message to the students.

“People aren’t in this building teaching these classes because they don’t like kids. Trust them, because they do this because they want your life to be better for you, they feel like they have something to offer. So trust the faculty,” she said.

Limuel asks students to take a look at what the district can offer them.

“Just take advantage of the opportunities that (Tyler ISD) provides you because there are many, and a lot of students don’t take advantage of some of those opportunities,” he said.