More detail on this person: Philip W. Norton OBITUARIES Tribune, The (San Luis Obispo, CA) - Sunday, January 21, 2007 Dr. Philip William Norton, beloved husband, devoted father and cherished brother, died Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2007, peacefully at home after a long and valiant battle against cancer. Services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 22, 2007, at First Presbyterian Church of San Luis Obispo, with private burial to follow. Phil was born Sept. 29, 1947, in Milwaukee, Wis., the second of four children of Robert L. and Shirley J. Norton. Phil's father was killed in action in the Korean War in 1951 and was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, Silver Star and Distinguished Service Cross for Valor. Phil and his brothers and sister were raised by their mother, Shirley, and his paternal grandmother, Grammy Kelly, in South Portland, Maine. He received his undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College and his doctorate in immunology from the University of Connecticut. He attained the rank of second lieutenant in the Army, and for his service in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot, he was awarded two Air Medals and the Bronze Star. Phil spent his professional career in the field of sales and marketing for pharmaceutical and biotech companies, most recently as the National Sales and Marketing Director for Promega Biosciences, Inc. Phil loved and was very proud of his two children, Megan N. Norton, currently a nursing student in her junior year at University of San Francisco, and Casey B. Norton, a junior at Mission College Preparatory Catholic High School. He treasured any moments he could spend with them, including watching them in their various athletic pursuits, and looked forward with great anticipation to seeing them make their mark on the world. Phil possessed a brilliant, inquisitive mind, a kind and gentle soul and a dry sense of humor. He had many and varied interests, including travel, history, sports, the arts, movies, music, finance, reading books of almost any kind and nature and his recent passion for Sudoku. He was a lifelong fan of the UConn Huskies, Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots. In October 2005, he married his soul mate Mary A. Harris, and they made their home in San Luis Obispo. He and Mary shared a happy, content life filled with friends and family, and thought about all of the places they hoped to travel -- especially to return to Italy, where they spent their wonderful honeymoon, and to Australia, the land of his mother's birth. Phil was uncomplaining and strong in the face of any adversity he encountered in his treatment over the five years since his original diagnosis. There are heroes who walk among us, and he was surely one, although his humble and good nature would never allow him to see himself as such. Phil is survived by his wife, Mary; his children, Megan and Casey; his brothers and sister and their spouses, Robert L. Norton (Sheryl) of Gainesville, Fla., Scott A. Norton (Kathleen) of Savannah, Ga., and Teresa A. Mattison (Bob) of Oakland, Maine; brothers-in-law, Edward A. Harris (Linda) and Jack A. Harris and mother-in-law Mary E. "Nonna" Harris, all of San Luis Obispo; aunts, Joann Patterson of Vancouver, Wash., and Thalia Leaver of Surfer's Paradise, Australia; nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephew and cousins in San Luis Obispo, Maine, Massachusetts, Florida, Washington and Oregon; and many dear friends. He was predeceased by his father, Robert L. Norton, and his mother, Shirley J. Norton, who just passed away on Dec. 29, 2006. Special thanks are given to Dan Lewis, M.D., and his entire staff for the compassion and care they provided to Phil. Arrangements are being made to set up a scholarship fund in Phil's memory at Bowdoin College, to which donations are requested in lieu of flowers.
Burial information: San Luis Cemetery, San Luis Obispo, CA
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