Carol Littlejohn Norton, a longtime resident of Rye, passed away peacefully on January 31, 2018.
Born and raised in Atlanta, she attended the Westminster Schools, where she had the honor of being President of the Student Council, an AFS Exchange Student to Norway the summer of 1957, and a recipient of the Atlanta Journal Cup as “Most Outstanding Senior: in 1958. She went on to Emory University, where she was a Stipes Scholar and a member of Kappa Alpha Theta and Phi Beta Kappa.
After graduation in 1962 with a B.A. in History, her career path took her to Foreign Service Officers School in Washington. D. C. and a posting at the American Embassy in Brussels, Belgium, with assignments in the offices of the Press Attache and the Cultural Affairs Attache. Subsequently, she worked as a Program Officer for students and teachers from Southeast Asia and South America in the International Education section of the U.S. Office of Education in Washington. It was in Washington that she met Peter Norton; they were married in the Georgetown Presbyterian Church on August 8, 1970.
The Nortons moved to Rye in the summer of 1972 and Mrs. Norton soon became an active community volunteer. She was a longtime member of the 26th Twig, serving as Fair Chair and President; later, she was the Editor of the Twig Topics newsletter and President of the Twig Organization.
Mrs. Norton joined the Westchester and New York City boards of the Youth Counseling League, acting as Benefit Chair and President of the Westchester group. As a member of the Rye Garden Club, she developed a strong interest in environmental conservation and headed the Conservation Committee for four years.
Her endeavors at the Rye Presbyterian Church included a multi-year membership in the Mission and Outreach Committee, which offers grants from the church to worthwhile causes and organizations and in which she participated as benefit coordinator and committee chair. In addition, she served as a Deacon and a member of the Session and, in 2013, a delighted recipient of the Richard Murdoch Award.
With her husband, she enjoyed membership at Apawamis Club for 45 years. Spending time with her family and friends, reading, traveling, trying to speak French, and walking her various dogs with friends were among her most treasured activities.
In addition to her devoted husband of 47 years, Mrs. Norton is survived by her nephew, Richard Littlejohn and his wife Kathleen; and many cherished friends, all of whom gave thoughtful care and restorative hopes during her time with cancer.
A Memorial Service was held February 10 at Rye Presbyterian Church. Donations in her name may be made to The Mission Fund, Rye Presbyterian Church, 882 Boston Post Road, Rye, NY 10580; the GCA Scholarship Fund, Garden Club of America, 14 E. 60thStreet 3rd Floor, NY, NY 10022; or Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, NY, NY 10021-6007.
