John Jeffries Norton March 9, 1941 - June 23, 2013

John Jeffries Norton of Black Butte Ranch passed away in his sleep early Sunday, June 23.

John displayed grace, dignity and courage in the face of Lewy Body Dementia, a disease that takes all of that from you. He was an inspiration to all who knew him.

John was born on March 9, 1941 in Aberdeen, Washington, to Fred and June Norton. He grew up in the Magnolia neighborhood in Seattle. He graduated from Queen Anne High School and later the University of Washington, a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity, before joining the Air Force.

He worked as a construction project manager for 20 years at Howard S. Wright, in Seattle, where he met his wife of 36 years, Rosemary. He later worked for Wildish in Eugene, Oregon, moving there with his family in 1990. In Eugene, John was the president of the Oregon Track Club Masters. Always an avid runner, John was passionate about many activities, such as cycling, racquetball, skiing, baseball, and golfing.

The highlight of his career was working on both the Autzen and Reeser stadium expansions. As a Husky grad, he was a Duck fan second and Beaver fan third, but a PAC-10 fan always.

After his retirement, he moved to Black Butte Ranch with Rosemary. There he was closer to his beloved Mt. Bachelor and spent a few winters working on the mountain. John was active in the Black Butte Ranch golf community and loved playing as much as he could with friends and family, as well as working as a course marshal.

He is survived by his wife, Rosemary, daughters Jessica (Justin) and Carly (Gavin), brother Peter (Gwen), cousins, nieces and nephews.

John's brain has been donated to OHSU to help further the more than 70 ongoing studies on Lewy Body Dementia & Alzheimer's.

A private memorial celebration is planned for later this year at the lodge at Black Butte Ranch.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in John's name to Lewy Bodys Dementia Association, 912 Killian Hill Road, S.W. Lilburn, GA 30047 or at www.lbda.org.