John Merrill Norton of Boston and Acton, died at age 88 on January 5 from acute dementia. He had been a vice-president of Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Company (now Mellon Bank), retired as a “bird” Colonel, USMCR, and served as long-time treasurer of Trinity Church in the City of Boston, the Boston Preservation Alliance, and the Lili Boulanger Memorial Foundation. John was a graduate of Harvard College, 1956.
His son James died in 2016. John’s survivors include his wife, Bettina A. (“Toni”), James’ widow Jamie and sons Christopher and David, Benjamin and Naoko and children Masaki and Hanako, Giulia Norton and wife Ellen Donaghey, Laura Agarwal and children Sonia and Nikhil, and his brother James Norton and wife Marge. John was predeceased by his sister, Nancy Salas, as well as six older half-brothers and sisters.
The memorial service will be held at Trinity Church in the City of Boston, 206 Clarendon St., on Thursday, Jan. 12, at 10 a.m. Contributions in John’s name may be made to The Boston Preservation Alliance, 87 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, MA 02108. For his full obituary, please see watermanboston.com.
