We met Norries on Wednesday at his weekly YMCA exercise class at Welcome Bay Hall.
His instructor, Estelle Harman, said being the only man in the Active Lifestyle Fitness and Socialising (ALFS) class made Norries "a really lovely inspiration".
He began the ALFS class four years ago and told us it had lifted him out of his grief after Pat, his wife of almost 60 years, passed away in 2007.
"It's been absolutely excellent," he said. "It pulled me out of the mire."
It's obvious he occupies a key place in the hearts of the women in the class, who range in age from their 50s to their 80s.
They crowd around him at every opportunity and the jokes begin the moment they file into the carpark outside the community hall at 9am.
Norries is already there, having driven himself from his home in Pyes Pa, and is standing in the carpark talking to us when one of the women jokes that she chose to park at a distance because she didn't want to run him over.
A few minutes later, they're inside, where the laughs continue.
"Got to have a swig of gin," 74-year-old Mary Easton jokes to Norries as he takes a sip of water from his bottle before the class begins.
There are other important matters to attend to before the exercise starts - the after-class entertainment.
Mary stands and makes sure all there know they are invited to her house for a cup of tea and muffin afterwards "just to start the New Year off".
Then down to business: Estelle gets the group of 20 warmed up with a fast walk around the hall, a loud, happy babble of chatter infusing the dark space with cheery warmth.
Next the members of the Smooth Movers class do exercises with sticks serving as dancing canes to twirl around. The music - the 1920s song Putting on the Ritz - adds to the buzz.
Later they use soccer balls for pair work and mats for routines on the floor.
Norries' face is alight the entire time and he tells us how much he loves the class.
"The exercise is the main thing - it keeps my joints moving - but the social thing is important too because I'm on my own."
Norries has suffered heart and lung problems in the past but says the ALFS class helps keep him fit now.
Class members include two women recovering from strokes and Norries encourages more seniors, including men, to join the group.
"You mustn't sit down and watch that box. You don't have to be good at it. Come and try."
Estelle Harman said men appeared to be discouraged from joining by their sex, when in fact it could work in their favour.
"It's really not a disadvantage. It's an advantage because the women all fluff over the men."
The mother of Bay of Plenty sprinter Kodi Harman, Estelle said she loved teaching the class and encouraged any senior to give it a try.
"They may be surprised when they come and participate how very social and rewarding it is for themselves. It's not just about the exercise. It's about the friendships they make."
Norries' involvement with the YMCA stretches back to 1930.
He fondly recalls going on a three-week camp run by the organisation in the Pohangina Valley when he was a 7-year-old in Palmerston North.
"It was wonderful. [There were] bush walks, lots of exercise, swimming, eeling and all that sort of stuff that boys wanted to do."
The YMCA was also involved in providing physical education to boys when he attended Palmerston North Boys' High.
He admits his fitness lapsed during World War II, when he served as an army signalman in the Fourth Division based at Palmerston North.
He later lived in Napier and got involved with the Scout movement. "I was a Cub master. My wife was a Guide captain. And we had [four children who were] a Cub, Brownie, Scout and Guide."
In addition to the Smooth Movers class, Norries also gets his meals delivered by the YMCA and says it has always been a great community organisation.
YMCA Tauranga general manager Calum Davie is watching Norries' class and says it is great to see how much joy the ALFS programmes bring their elderly participants.
"Often this is the only social interaction they have throughout the week."
He says anecdotal feedback from participants is that the activity improves their fitness. "They say they can get out of bed easier in the morning and they're not so creaky."
He would like to see more Tauranga businesses contributing funds for the ALFS programme to keep costs down for the elderly. "In an ideal world we'd love for them to come along and not have to pay a cent."
Norries is a retired appliance salesman and former president of Tauranga Photographic Society. He loves photography and travelling, and went on a river cruise along the Rhine in Europe last year.
This year, he's off to Italy.
He also loves his family and is "official" grandfather of four and great-grandfather of one, but proudly calls himself grandfather to a much larger clan of grandchildren numbering 41, acquired in second marriages by his children.
Mary Easton, 74, jokes that if other men want to join the Smooth Movers class "they have to be as nice as Norries".
Says another woman: "He's not allowed to go from here to other classes."
Norries gets a little uncomfortable with the praise at this point and excuses himself to have another sip from his bottle.
"I'll have my gin now," he jokes.
"Save a bit for later," Mary wisecracks back.
