Julian Lee Norton was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, the first child of Floyd Ligon Norton III and Grace Julian Norton. Three years later her brother, Floyd L. Norton IV (known as Mac), was born. Julie's childhood was spent in Shreveport, although at age 14 she spent the year traveling through Europe with her family. She returned to high school in Shreveport and then attended Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, from which she graduated in 1969. After graduation, Julie worked in Richmond and obtained a masters degree in special education from Virginia Commonwealth University, 1975. She taught at Prospect Heights Middle School in Orange County for three years before attending seminary at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from which she received a Master of Divinity Degree. She was ordained to the Diaconate on June 9, 1982, and to the priesthood on May 18, 1983. Following, she served as an assistant at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Wayland, Massachusetts, and as associate Rector at St. Paul's Church in Newburyport, Massachusetts. She was winner of Best Sermon Competition, Episcopal Evangelical Foundation, 1983. She then served as rector of St. Paul's Church, Newton Highlands, Massachusetts from 1988 until 1995. She returned to Virginia in 1995 to take the position of rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Keswick-Cismont, Virginia. She retired from that position in the spring of 2012. Shortly thereafter, she was diagnosed with cancer from which she died on March 17, 2013. She is survived by her children, Holly Elizabeth Norton and Christopher Lee Norton; her brother, Mac and his wife, Kathleen, living in Chevy Chase, Maryland; and her nieces, Caroline N. Vance and Elizabeth L. Norton. Julie was once referred to as a non-traditional priest for a traditional parish. Only a few years before her appointment here had the ordination of women been approved by delegates to the Episcopal Church Convention. The search committee at Grace Church had been told by their bishop that "to avoid conflict" they needed to have a woman in their list of candidates. It was the good fortune of the church that Julie was interviewed and called to the position of rector. She had said to the search committee that in her view, "The church is many things. It's a community of faith; it's a collection of very human beings; in a way it's also like a business. You run it by selecting the very best people to help you-- finance people, artistic people, organizational types-- all kinds of talents. You preach wonderful sermons that don't last forever. You keep meetings short and to the point, being respectful of people's time. My job? To make the church work. And to enjoy doing it. I grew up thinking there was only one path, one right way, one man, one career, one road you needed to find. Now I know it's infinite the things you can do, and if God is part of it, you can do it better." There was never a person who lived with more respect for nature. She continued the tradition of the Thanksgiving Day Blessing of the Hounds (and foxes), connecting Grace Church to the Keswick Hunt Club. Every year she also held a service of blessing of all animals and family pets, in the tradition of St. Francis of Assisi. She and her children adopted many dogs and cats over the years, rescuing them from area shelters, and they fed the wild animals with which they shared their acreage surrounding their home in the country. In Julie's memory, the Eastminster Dog Show, this year to be held on May 15 in association with the Keswick Horse Show, will present a memorial trophy in Julie's honor to recognize her love of all God's creatures. A graveside service is planned for 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, 2013, at Grace Episcopal Church, Cismont-Keswick, reception in the Parish House to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in Julie's name be made to The Wildlife Center of Virginia, P.O. Box 1557, Waynesboro, VA 22980.
This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.
