Glen J. Norton
Fishers Island, NY
Glen Jack Norton age 76, of Fishers Island, NY passed away peacefully at home May 11 surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Patricia A. Griffin Norton.
Glen was born in Dallas, Texas on May 20, 1946, to Ione Denson Norton and Willie (Jack) Baldwin Norton. His dad’s career as a chief warrant officer in the US Army enabled Glen and his mom to live in Japan and Germany and in several states in the US. They lived in San Antonio, TX, Denver, CO, Fort Sill, OK, Windsor Locks, CT, and Wiggins, Mississippi to name a few. Glen shared many fun stories of their extensive travels and delighted his family with Japanese phrases that he had learned from his nannies, Mimi and Michiko. Glen was known to play hooky from kindergarten by getting off the school bus to admire the Koi in the pond at the officer’s club. While Jack was in Korea, Glen and Ione settled on Fishers where they had moved to help Ione’s sister Ann and brother-in-law Stephen Morrell with their newly established business, the Pequot Inn. Glen attended Fishers Island School for his senior year of high school where he met the love of his life, Patti Griffin.
Glen enlisted in the Army in 1965 during the Vietnam conflict. At the top of his class, he was chosen from a group of several hundred to serve in the Pentagon where he became an IT Programmer Specialist with top secret security clearance. When Glen was discharged in 1968, he accepted a position with Honeywell in Waltham, Massachusetts as an IT specialist.
Glen and Patti were married on August 23, 1969, at Our Lady of Grace Church on Fishers Island. Glen later moved his young family to Nashville, TN with Honeywell, then to southern IN where they raised their three children and lived for many years before retiring to Fishers Island to be closer to family. While living in IN, Glen was an avid tennis and racquetball player. He was just shy of his black belt in Taekwondo. Glen loved to tinker in his garage on his antique car and truck. Glen and Patti built their family home from an antique log barn, disassembled, and reconstructed on their property, doing most of the work themselves. Glen later operated Norton Computer Company, troubleshooting for various businesses across the country. Patti, thankfully, was able to accompany him as they traveled to various accounts in their RV. Patti and Glen never liked the separation required with Glen’s business trips to Carlisle, Ca, St. Louis, Myrtle Beach, and Phoenix, to mention a few. They were a devoted couple through High School and during their nearly 54 years of marriage.
Glen was a man of many talents with a great and unending sense of humor which he maintained throughout his long battle with IPF. Glen loved to play chess, monopoly, and all types of card games and loved teaching his magic tricks. Glen loved music and movies of all genres. He was a wealth of knowledge and always had a joke, a quote, a lesson, or a skill that he was eager to share with his kids and grandkids. He had a loving and generous personality and was loved by all who knew him. He will be dearly missed by daughter Amy Harris (Dirk), sons David (Alicia) and Andrew (Sarah), grandchildren, Isabella and Griffin Harris and Casey and Lukas Norton and their mother, Aleksandra Norton. Patti’s siblings Pegi Everett, Pamela Chatham, and Chip Griffin will miss Glen like the “big brother” he was to them. He will also be missed by his nieces and nephews and many close friends.
A memorial service will be held Tuesday, May 23rd at 1:00 in the afternoon at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church on Fishers Island. Dr. Anthony Schapker, Permanent Deacon at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Newburgh, IN, and close friend of the Norton family will officiate. A reception will follow the service at the American Legion Post 1045 on Fishers Island. All are welcome. Those wishing to make memorial contributions in Glen’s name may do so to the Fishers Island Fire Department, the American Legion, or the Island Health Project.