KWU lost one of the pillars of its community in late December, when Trustee Emeritus Jerry Norton ’59 passed away in Oak Park, Ill. Norton was a longtime member of the KWU Board of Trustees, having served since 2014, and alongside his wife, Margaret (Williams) Norton ’61, helped launch the Norton Faculty Excellence Fund in 2018. That fund has helped KWU faculty navigate unexpected expenditures and provide learning opportunities across campus.
Jerry Norton’s professional career was highlighted by 48 years at Loyola Chicago’s School of Law, where he achieved faculty emeriti status. Norton also spent time at Chicago-Kent’s Law School, where he organized the Police Law Institute and served as editor of the Chicago Kent Police Law Reporter.
It was at KWU, however, where he developed his love of learning. Norton credited professors like Dr. Felix Wasserman, Dr. Jack Vanderhoof and Thomas Durkin with awakening him to the possibilities of intellectual thought. That love led to many journal articles relating to national and international interests, including a decade of research with the American Bar Association’s Central and East European Law Initiative (CEELI). There, he reviewed 23 draft laws and comment papers from countries recently freed from the Soviet Union.
Norton was the third member of his family to attend Kansas Wesleyan, joining his mother, Helen, and brother Frank ’54, a past member of the university’s Foundation Board.
Jerry was honored with KWU’s Alumni Service Award in 2010 and was recognized at the university’s Scholarship Gala – the largest fundraising night in school history – in 2024.
In addition to the Norton Faculty Excellence Fund, the Nortons have given to many projects across campus, including the Nursing Education Center and the Sams Chapel project.
Click here to watch KWU thanking the Nortons for their support at the 2024 Scholarship Gala.
Click here to read about the Nortons’ experience at Kansas Wesleyan and their launch of the Faculty Excellence Fund that bears their name.
Portions of the above provided by the Norton family
