John F. Norton

John Franklin Norton passed away on May 16, 2019, at the age of 85, quietly in his home surrounded by his family, due to complications from Lewy Body Dementia.

A memorial service will be held at First Presbyterian Church of Iowa, on the corner of Kirkwood Blvd. and Iowa Street, Davenport, on Monday, May 20. There will be a visitation at 10:00 a.m., a service at 11 a.m., followed by a gathering in the Fellowship Hall. Memorials may be made to The First Tee Quad Cities, an organization dedicated to golf education for youth; the Lewy Body Dementia Association; or Genesis Hospice. Trimble Funeral Home, Moline, is serving the family.

John was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 30, 1934, to Arthur and Mildred (Hafner) Norton.
John attended Dowling High School in Des Moines, Iowa, and graduated from Drake University with a Bachelors Degree in Business and a Masters Degree in Education. He began his teaching career in Winterset, Iowa, and continued in the Davenport system where he taught business and typing. After retirement it was not unusual, when seeing a former student, to hear, "Hi, Mr. Norton, thanks for teaching me."

He married Rachel Beeson in 1959. The children from their marriage are Rebecca (Kevin) Landwehr, Louis (Lora) Norton, Michael (Christine) Norton, Amy (Kenneth) VanSickle.

In 1988, John married Vivian (Mohr) Hemken. His stepchildren are Andrew (Cheryl) Hemken, Sabrina (Greg) Brown, Peter Hemken, Dr. Christine (Blaine) Biedermann, David (Angelika) Hemken.

John enjoyed a retirement playing golf, wood working, gardening, and traveling. Before moving from rural Davenport to Bettendorf, he maintained an extensive garden and yard, including a regulation golf green. He and Vivian made many trips, touring the US and Europe. Two highlights were a special biking trip in the coastal French wine country and playing a round of golf on the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.

Those left to tell his stories are his wife, children, stepchildren, 16 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, his sister, Mary Smith, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Arthur Norton, and sister Kay (Norton) Mark.

John's family invites friends to share stories and condolences at TrimbleFuneralHomes.com.