Norman D. Nevills was a pioneer of commercial river-running in the American Southwest, particularly the Colorado River

Colorado River

The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...

 through the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...

. He led trips including Dr. Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter, the first two women to successfully float the Grand Canyon, and Barry Goldwater

Barry Goldwater

Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...

.

Nevills was the son of William E. and Mae Davies Nevills of California. The elder Nevills left California in 1921 to pursue a career in oil drilling.