Ron Norris, an active member of Bend’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before moving to Utah three years ago, died Wednesday in a traffic accident in Arizona. He was 55.

According to media reports, Norris and three other people were returning to Utah and Idaho after a funeral when their vehicle got a flat right tire around 7 a.m. Wednesday. The driver of the vehicle, 61-year-old Danny Walton, stopped in the right emergency lane on northbound Interstate 17 north of Phoenix.

Norris was in the midst of changing the tire when 34-year-old Miguel Ortiz, who was traveling north in a sedan, fell asleep and his car veered off the road. He awakened and swerved the car back onto the road, striking Norris, who was pronounced dead at the scene. No charges have been filed against Ortiz.

At the time of his death, Norris was living in Orem, Utah.

According to Steve Rau, the Bend stake president for the church, Norris was a dedicated member of the community who helped people in need.

“He was a man of great integrity,” Rau said. “He was a family man to the maximum. Their family was so close.”

Norris worked at The Bulletin for 10 years, beginning in March 1997. During the decade he was with the newspaper’s parent company, Western Communications Inc., he served both as the chief financial officer and as the director of information systems before leaving in March 2007 and moving to Utah.

Norris served as the executive secretary of the local stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and assisted in the purchase of property and the building of a new church on Shevlin Park Road. He is survived by his wife, Lisa, and two sons and two daughters.