Art Nortier

3/23/1930 - 7/23/2022

Vacaville

Art, a 60-year resident of Vacaville, passed away at the age of 92 after a brief illness. He was born in San Francisco, CA the second child of Esther Pearson and Marinus Nortier.

Art attended San Jose State University, graduating with a degree in business and a minor in music. He served in the US Navy from 1951-54 and was stationed in Pensacola Florida and upstate New York. He returned to California and married Mary Ann Weisbrod. They eloped in Sparks, Nevada in 1955. This union lasted for 66 years.

Art worked in property management and continued the family food business by operating a food truck called ‘The Grab Bag,’ which he drove to job sites around the Bay area.

During this time, his music career took off. He played piano in a variety of bands in San Francisco, notably the Bay City Jazz Band, Earl’s Hot Five, The Great Pacific Jazz Band, and Pat Yankee and Her Sinners. He was also a regular at the Honeybucket, one of the most popular jazz venues of the 1950s.

In 1960, Art and Mary Ann moved from their small apartment in Oakland to a 35-acre ranch in rural Vacaville. It was a big change from city life, but his ranch proved to be the source of his greatest happiness during the 60 years he lived there.

Art continued to play piano even as he operated a law research firm and eventually worked as a Systems Analyst for the state of California, Cal-Trans. He played at the Red Garter, among many other venues in Northern California, and always enjoyed the music and camaraderie of the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, where he played until its last run in 2017.

Art was active in the Vacaville community and was a volunteer firefighter for the English Hills Fire Department. He was an avid reader and was knowledgable about many subjects, especially geography, history, and of course, music. He loved to tell and hear a good story and was a phenomenal joke teller.

Art’s beloved ranch burned in the LNU fire of 2020. Even after he lost everything but the shirt on his back, he insisted that we pay the library for the books he had checked out at the time. This is one small example of the kind of man he was and the legacy of integrity he leaves for his family.

Music continued to provide comfort and meaning to him until his final days. His hearing wasn’t so great, and his memory occasionally failed him when it came to passwords and street names, but he never forgot a song lyric, and would sing a little something for whatever topic came up.

Art was preceded in death by his wife of 66 years Mary Ann, who died six days before him, son Bix Nortier, and sister Dorothy DeBolt. He is survived by his daughter, Nicole Nortier, son-in-law Dan Tilly, and beloved grandchildren Tristan and Cassiel Nortier-Tilly. He is missed beyond measure, but even in his absence, he continues to be our North Star.