Mr. Chester Norton

Chester Norton of Albany passed away at the Willson Hospice House on March 8, 2024. The funeral service will be held on Monday, March 11, 2024 @ 2PM at Porterfield Methodist Church with a brief cemetery service immediately following at Crown Hill Mausoleum Chapel. The family will receive friends from 1:00- 2:00 PM before the service at Porterfield Methodist Church He was born in 1928 to Chester and Jessie Norton in Orangeburg, South Carolina. The family later moved to Crescent City, Florida, Waycross, Fitzgerald, and then settled in Ocilla, Georgia. He attended Georgia Tech for three quarters but came home to marry his sweetheart, Rose. They moved to Tifton and then called Albany home since 1968. They were married for seventy years before her death in 2022. Chester retired from Gulf Life Insurance Company in 1991 as the district manager. He taught insurance sales certification classes to new agents for several years before beginning a new career as the Church Administrator for Porterfield Methodist Church. He found the most career satisfaction in this position than any other, as he felt he had answered God’s call for many years to ministry. It was not in the pulpit, as he had imagined in his younger years, but he was heavily involved in hands on ministry for 18 years before his final retirement at 86 years old. He was known for his wit, positivity, leadership, faith, loyalty, wisdom, and dedication to family and friends. He was sharp in his knowledge of technology and enjoyed working with his hands to complete projects, also known as “Mr. Fix It.” Above all, his faith in the Lord shined. He walked, talked, and lived his Christian faith. In the 1980s, he was one of the founding members of the church’s Tuesday Morning Men’s Bible Study. Some weeks there would only be two men in attendance, but he was committed to the importance of men, of all ages, coming together to study the Bible. Over the years, he had a way of subtly inviting men who needed to step up their faith, and there are testimonies of men who turned the corner in their faith by attending the weekly group which has grown in size. He attended the study until recent months, when he attended via Zoom. He was a great example of a steadfast Godly man who lived for Christ and found joy in every aspect of life. He loved life to the fullest and was very proud to live to the age of 95. He remarked that he woke up every day amazed that God had given him such a long life. “My purpose is to be an instrument of God’s love.” He is predeceased by his wife Rose Morris Norton. Survivors include three children: Nita Norton Gaines (Craig), Kelly Morris Norton (Kay), and Rose Marie Martin (Richard); grandchildren: Candice Rose Melton (McKay), Elizabeth Gaines, Claire Martin, Hatcher Martin, Nathan Martin, one great-granddaughter, Lindsey Rose Melton, his brother John Norton, and numerous nieces and nephews. The family extends deep thankfulness for Nettie Worthy. She has been a blessing from above as she became Chester’s caregiver and friend, and also a warm and kind soul to our family. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Porterfield Methodist Church.