ROBERT ALAN NORTON

1926 - 2021

January 3, 1926 -
February 3, 2021

Eminent pomologist, orchardist, horticulturalist, and tireless educator Doctor Bob Norton, Ph.D., "Doctor Bob - The Apple Guy," reached the final rung of his lofty orchard ladder, passing from this life at his home on Vashon Island, February 3, 2021. He was 95.

Charismatic, filled with a boundless energy, and often compared to the original Johnny Appleseed, Dr. Norton was a passionate advocate who promoted the development, planting, and harvest of fruits suited to local soils, spaces, and climate conditions. He dedicated the bulk of his career to testing fruit varieties adapted to Western Washington's unique climate.

Dr. Norton worked for twenty-nine years at the Washington State University Mount Vernon Northwestern Washington Research & Extension Center, as the Extension's director, before retiring in 1991. Through his research at the WSU Extension, and in close contact with regional growers, Dr. Norton was instrumental in introducing the Honeycrisp apple to Western Washington, an apple that would become a well-known consumer favorite, and earn the moniker "Moneycrisp" from growers.

Dr. Norton was active in, and contributed to the development of, the Skagit Men's Garden Club, the Western Washington Fruit Research Foundation, the Western Cascade Fruit Society, the All About Fruit Expedition.

Never one to let retirement slow him down, Dr. Norton founded his own consulting firm, AppleCorps; advising on fruit development, patent application processes, assisting foreign scientists and authors with publication in the United States, in addition to leading tour groups around the fruit baskets of the world. His pomological tours reached Indonesia, New Zealand, Romania, Japan, Australia, Western Europe, Italy,and South Africa.

Working at a pace some folks thirty years his junior struggled to match, Dr. Norton was a driving force behind the formation of the Vashon Island Fruit Club in 2004. He served as the Head Horticulturalist for the VIFC Research and Demonstration Orchard at Sunrise Ridge on Vashon Island. Several varieties of fruits Dr. Norton helped to develop during his career are featured in the community orchard including the Puget Spice Crabapple, Salish Summer peach, the Shuksan Strawberry, and his own Norton Seedling apple. During annual island Applefest events Dr. Norton joined other Fruit Club experts to help islanders identify mystery apples from their own orchards. He also conducted countless, informal instructional classes, often one-on-one, covering the pruning and maintenance of fruit trees.

Robert Alan Norton was born January 3, 1926 in Hazleton, Pennsylvania to Leland and Esther (Beck) Norton. He was the younger brother to sisters Marjorie and Marilyn. The family later moved to Fairfield, Connecticut. Dr. Norton's early interest in horticultural was cultivated by his father who encouraged his son to travel their Fairfield neighborhood selling surplus produce from the home garden. It was a routine Mr. Norton never abandoned, becoming a regular vendor of his home-grown cherries, strawberries, and apples at the local farmer's market on Vashon Island.

Drafted by the U.S. Navy in 1944, Dr. Norton served as a naval yard pipefitter during World War II. After the war, Dr. Norton attended Rutgers University, earning his Bachelor of Arts in ornamental horticulture and Master of Science degree in pomology, the study of fruit and its cultivation. While at Rutgers he met Elizabeth Whalen whom he married in 1950. The couple had six children: Clifford (deceased 1980), Paul of Marysville, Wash., Dave (Lu) of Edmonds, Wash., Rick of Bonney Lake, Wash., Rob of Everett, Wash., and Susan (Ross) of Edmonds, Wash.

Gregarious and social, Dr. Norton was a natural educator and shared his exhaustive knowledge of plant sciences with all who held an interest in the subject. Dr. Norton began his horticultural research career at Michigan State University where he earned a Ph.D. in plant physiology. From there he held teaching and research positions at Utah State, University of California, Davis, and Washington State University.

Dr. Norton's first marriage ended in divorce in 1992. Dr. Norton married Carol Wilson, a master gardener and journalist, in 1993. The couple first lived in Wenatchee, Wash., the state's "capital of apples," where Dr. Norton nurtured his consulting business. Later, they designed and built a home on five acres of Vashon Island where they also planted a sophisticated orchard. The orchard, though compact in size, is both breathtaking for its wide varietal range, and remarkable for the yields produced.

Armed with a seemingly endless supply of questions, Dr. Norton was well known at family gatherings for turning the attention away from himself, and persistently, yet gently, grilling any participant on any subject at large. He usually stuck to probing their business ventures, garden plans, or love lives.

Dr. Norton is survived by his wife Carol Norton of Vashon Island, his children, seven grandchildren and eight great- grandchildren.

For his family - Dad, Apple Grandpa, Bop-Bop, Dr. Bob - will be remembered for his ever-present smile, wit, wry humor, and an insatiable sense of curiosity. The knowledge he eagerly shared with everyone he knew will, like a carefully planted seed, grow to keep his legacy alive. Vashon Island Fruit Club member Emily MacRae recently announced the addition of "Dr. Bob Norton Memorial Orchard" to the VIFC Research and Demonstration Orchard's title.

No services are planned at this time, due to COVID-19. Those wishing to remember Bob are asked to plant a fruit tree...or ten...
Monetary donations in Bob's memory may be made to the Vashon Island Fruit Club.