WAYLAND: Henry “Hank” Hamilton Norwood, 80, died peacefully on March 2, 2011 following a brief bout with melanoma cancer. He was born in Evanston, Illinois on March 27, 1930, the son of the late John K. Norwood, Sr. and Katherine (Allport) Norwood.
Henry is survived by his wife of 54 years, Margaret Flowers Norwood; daughter Katherine C. O’Brien of Pittsford, New York; sons John M. Norwood of West Des Moines, Iowa and Henry C. Norwood and his wife Amy Robinson Norwood of Glenview, Illinois and seven grandchildren. Henry is also the cousin of Ann Norwood of New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
Henry was a graduate of the Belmont Hill School, Belmont, Massachusetts with the Class of 1949. He received his B.A. in History from Williams College. He was the Salutatorian of the Class of 1953 at Williams, played varsity baseball, was a member of the fraternity, Delta Phi and also received his J.D. from Harvard University. Henry spent the first half of his professional career as a management consultant for Harbridge House in Boston, before later starting his own business, National Utility Marketing Associates, which focused exclusively on strategic planning for the electric utility sector.
Henry was a resident of Wayland for over 50 years, assisting in the establishment of Wayland Swim & Tennis Club and, more recently, serving on the Pinebrook Neighborhood Association and Parmenter Community Health Board. He was an active member of the Williams Alumni Association, Friends of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, and an avid birdwatcher who traveled to six of seven continents in search of birds for his life-list.
Henry was a longtime area coordinator for the annual Concord Christmas Bird count and amateur ornithologist interested in climate change, recently co-authoring a paper in the American Meteorological Society Journal on the influence of El Nino on bird migration patterns. An original member of the annual bird counters, this past Christmas marked his 51st year of participation in the National Audubon Society-sponsored event. In retirement, when not pursuing various charitable and conservation causes, Henry loved to travel both near and far with his wife, Peg, and friends, while leaving time to regularly battle long-time adversaries on the tennis court.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 11:00 am at the First Parish in Wayland, 50 Cochituate Rd, Wayland Center.
In lieu of flowers, gifts in his memory may be made to Sudbury Valley Trustees, 18 Wolbach Rd, Sudbury, MA 01776; Parmenter Community Health Care, 266 Cochituate Rd, Wayland, MA 01778 or Williams College, Annual Giving Office, 75 Park St, Williamstown, MA 01267.
Arrangements entrusted to the care of the John C. Bryant Funeral Home of Wayland. For online condolences, pleases visit www.johncbryantfuneralhome.com.