David L. Norton (Missoula ’50)
Posted: February 11, 2025
Dave grew up in St. Louis, MO. During high school and college, Dave spent three fire seasons with the USFS in Montana and Idaho. He also held summer jobs as a strip mine and uranium prospector. He jumped at Missoula during the 1950 season.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, he served in the U.S. Air Force.
Dave was an associate leader of the St. Louis Ethical Society and leader of the Boston Ethical Society while working on his doctorate at Boston University.
Dave settled in Delaware, where he was an extremely accomplished scholar. He joined the University of Delaware in 1966, becoming a full professor in 1978. He co-founded the college’s master’s program in liberal studies, established in 1988.
He wrote three books, Personal Destinies, Democracy and Moral Development, and Philosophies of Love. The latter work he coauthored with his wife, Mary.
He and Mary had a daughter, Anita, and four sons, Ronald, Peter, T. Tucker, and Cory.
Not long before he passed away, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Soka University in Japan for his work on the educational philosophy of Tsunesaburo Makaguchi. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of Delaware Hospice.
Dave died of cancer on July 24, 1995, at the age of 65.
