Evelyn Norton Obituary

Evelyn Sue Norton, wife of Tom D. Norton and mother of Sonja S. Norton, passed away on June 8, 2024, surrounded by her family. Evelyn Sue Settle was born April 4, 1945, on a small farm south of Gracemont, Oklahoma, and her childhood experiences there shaped the rest of her life. Most of the neighbors were native Caddo people, and for the rest of her life Sue never forgot the kindnesses they showed to her family and always had an affection and sympathy for Native American peoples. Oklahoma was just emerging from the depression and life on a farm without mechanization was hard! The whole family, including children, had to work in the fields. Until the third grade Sue and her sister attended the Camp Creek School, a simple two-room country school located a mile or so from their farm. To get there, they walked or rode their horse, Cricket. They depended on Cricket to get them safely across Red Creek, which often ran deep after a hard rain. If the creek was too deep, Cricket would refuse to cross, and they would take the safer long way around. In 1954 Sue's family moved to a farm 7 miles north of Cement, OK. There she attended the Cement schools and the Cement Assembly of God Church. Sue grew up in a musical family and had a lovely singing voice. Sue often played piano at church, and she and her sister, Laura Jean, performed as a duet at services. She was also a part of the Cement High School choral group called "A Septet Plus One". Sue graduated from Cement high school in 1963. Afterwards, she worked on the family dairy farm until September 3, 1965, when she married Tom Norton. On June 1, 1966, their daughter, Sonja, was born in Norman, OK, and shortly thereafter they moved to Arco, ID, for Tom's work. In 1967 they returned to the University of Oklahoma where Tom pursued a PhD in physics. Sue worked at the state hospital in Norman to help support the family until Tom finished graduate school. In 1973 Tom took a teaching position at Fort Lewis college, and they moved to Durango and made it their lifelong home. Sue liked getting to know Tom's FLC students and often had many of his students over to the house for a home cooked meal. Several of these students became almost like her own children and lifelong friends. As a girl, Sue's dad, Wes, had an Irish Setter bird dog that she really loved. Consequently, when at the beginning of their married life Tom wanted a bird dog, Sue agreed that they could at last afford one, but she insisted on an Irish setter. A long string of "red dogs" ensued that continued to make life interesting. Sue and Tom became active members of the National Red Setter Field Trial Club in1975. Through it Sue made some dear friends who gave her cherished experiences and much needed support In her long battle with cancer. Sue loved making baby quilts, which she hand sewed and embroidered. She gifted these quilts to family and friends for new arrivals. She said it helped her keep her sanity during her long fight with colon cancer. In the final stages of her battle with cancer, she maintained a positive attitude, and her spirits were buoyed by a continuous stream of visitors and calls from family and friends. She was profoundly grateful and could hardly believe that so many people loved and cared about her; she was often moved to tears by their kindnesses. Sue made sure, at the end of her life, that her husband and daughter understood that they were to do their best to support and help her family and friends after she was gone. Sue was an exceptional mother to Sonja. She was her daughter's best friend and advocate. Sue will always be dearly loved and deeply missed by her daughter and her husband.

Sue was preceded in death by her parents, Wesley and Mildred Settle, and her sister, Laura Jean Zwolle. Sue is survived by her husband Tom, her daughter Sonja, her brother Dewayne Settle, and numerous nephews and nieces. No service is planned at this time.