Obituaries and Memorials
The Memorial Committee acts to commemorate the passing of a Native Son or Daughter. Each decedent is specially announced to the membership with a silent pause in our dealings, and their respective names are placed in our Archives, with condolences to their family for their community service and their service to Native Sons and Daughters. We recognize our past presidents with an acknowledgement to their particular charity or cause.
(from the Kansas City Star, July 14, 2009)
Former member of the Board of Directors of the Native Sons and Daughters Bill Norton:
NORTON, P.E. Bill Norton, P.E., age 77, of Kansas City, MO, went to be with the Lord unexpectedly on July 11, 2009. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Thursday July 16, 2009 at Gashland Presbyterian Church, 81st and North Oak Trafficway in Kansas City North, with burial following in Mount Moriah Terrace Park Cemetery. Friends may visit with the family on Wednesday evening July 15, 2009 at the church from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The family suggests contributions to the Children's Ministries at Gashland Presbyterian Church or Heartland Habitat for Humanity. Bill was born December 17, 1931 in Strasburg MO. Later the family moved to Pleasant Hill, MO. He was one of eight children born to Frank Samuel and Willard Josephine Norton. He graduated from Pleasant Hill High School and, after working as a seaman in the United States Merchant Marine, he served with the 7th infantry division the U.S. Army in Korea, Bill graduated from Bradley University in Peoria, IL, in 1958. While students, Bill and Rosemary Thornton, of Peoria were married on December 28, 1957. Following graduation they moved to Kansas City, MO. He attended Finley College of Engineering while working for Marshall and Brown, Architects and Engineers for seven years. In 1967 he founded the engineering firm, Willard S. Norton, Consulting Engineer, later to become Norton and Schmidt, Consulting Engineers, Inc., and opened another office Norton, Schmidt and Warden in Atlanta, GA, in 1978. Upon retiring in 1996, he sold both firms to his partners, but has continued to serve his clients in the Kansas City area up until his passing. During his engineering career, he was a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, and was registered as a Structural Engineer in the States of MO, KS, FL, WI, OH, and NE. Bill enjoyed his family, friends, clients, and the people with whom he came in contact each day in his profession. There were many lives touched and changed by his encouragement, generosity, and sharing of his faith. Bill was a member of the Boy Scouts of America, the Tribe of Mic-O-Say, Pi Kappa Alpha, CBMC and the Bradley University Alumni Association. He served on the Board of Directors of the Native Sons of Kansas City, the Clay- Platte YMCA, Sentinel Federal Loan Association, and was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Oakwood. He had been a member of Gashland Presbyterian Church since 1960, having served as an ordained Elder, on the Board of Trustees, and the Session. Bill was preceded in death by his parents, his sisters Helen Norton and Frances Thurman, and brother Robert Norton. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Rosemary, his son, Craig and wife, Sarah, of Minnetonka, MN; his daughter Alissa and husband Kent Hermes, of Kansas City North; grandchildren Andrew Norton, Alex Norton, Elizabeth Hermes, and Emily Hermes; a brother, Frank Norton, of Santa Ana, CA; sisters, Inez Fredrickson, Harrisonville, MO, Eleanor Groll, Greenwood, MO, Louise Koerber, Kansas City North, MO; and many nieces, nephews, and wonderful friends. Arrangements: Mount Moriah Terrace Park Funeral Home, 801 NW 108th Street, KCMO 64155, 816-734-5500.