Bruce Marshall Norton, 69, of Huntsville, AL passed away on July 18, 2022, at home after battling cancer for nine years.
He was born October 29, 1952, in Bowling Green, OH to Edward and Betty Norton.
He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Anita McCoy Norton; two children, Bruce M. Norton, Jr and Nina M. Norton; granddaughter, Hannah Adkins, all of Huntsville; sister, Kathy Haefner (Jim); brother, Jeff Norton of Bowling Green, OH; cousins, Ethel Green and Teresa Linholm, that were like sisters to him, of Bowling Green, OH; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents Edward and Betty Norton.
Bruce leaves many friends he met during his travels with the US Army, as a contractor for the Army and as a federal employee. Bruce enlisted into the Army in 1971 and retired from the Army in 1991. He served in the Vietnam War, Gulf War, and two tours in Germany. He proudly served his country in his Army career as an Aviator.
He was a Maintenance Test Pilot for the Huey and UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. He continued his career in Aviation after retirement from the Army.
He worked for Sikorsky in Saudi Arabia, and Lockheed Martin at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, GA, basically doing the same job as he did in the military.
His last job was at Redstone Arsenal at Huntsville. He worked in the Utility Helicopters Projects Office with the International Program as a senior Program Integrator. He directly supported the Total Package Approach delivery of Blackhawk helicopters along with training, support equipment and services for multiple foreign military sales (FMS) country programs. He later transitioned to work as a US Government Civilian in the Security Assistance Management Directorate as a Lead Case Manager for the Sweden Blackhawk FMS program.
Bruce served 11 years in these positions. He supported delivery of hundreds of helicopters to multiple countries and was very well respected and loved by all for his knowledge, experience, and counsel. Bruce loved playing on the Senior Softball League and participating when he could with the NAVHPA, BUC-3, North AL Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association. He loved to travel, shoot guns, and catch up with old friends. He never met a stranger he could not sit and talk with. He loved driving his Corvette, it was always a dream of his to owe one. I know he’s missing his little dog, Junior, the dog he didn’t want that became his best buddy.
Bruce was a man of many skills and was always willing to help out. We will miss his jokes he played on all of us. He is deeply missed by his family.
Bruce will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA.
