Elmo Norton

Elmer Norman "Elmo" Norton (Businessman and political activist)
Born	December 4, 1928 Shreveport, Louisiana
Died	December 30, 2015 Shreveport, Louisiana
Political Party	Republican
Spouse	Sylvia Littlejohn Norton (married 1956-2015, his death)
Religion	Episcopalian

Elmer Norman Norton, known as Elmo Norton (December 4, 1928 – December 30, 2015), was a businessman in his native Shreveport, Louisiana, who was long active in the development of the Republican Party in his state.

Biography

Norton was the last surviving of six children of the late William Thomas Norton and the former Lucy Kyle. After graduation in 1946 from the former Fair Park High School in Shreveport, he served in the United States Marine Corps, stationed fourteen months in the Korean War, during which he earned two Purple Heart medals because of shrapnel thrust into his back and legs. He completed the Military Police Academy. His service stations were Japan, China, Guam, and Europe. In 2005, he was post commander for the Shreveport American Legion, during which time a member, William John "Wild Bill" Lawson (1927-2011), originally from Queens, New York City, was exposed for having posed as a major general wearing unearned medals in a charade that got out of hand. In actuality, Lawson had served in the USMC for nineteen months ending in 1946 and had not advanced beyond private first class and did not leave the country, having been injured in an accident in 1946 at Camp Pendleton in southern California. Lawson was pinned against a wall by a piece of heavy equipment; his legs, ankles, and knees were severely injured. Lawson had previously lived in Florida but had subsequently become a fixture for years at veterans events in Shreveport, of which his wife was a native and a classmate of Norton's at Fair Park High School. Lawson was recognized by his black patch over his left eye and riding a motorized limited-mobility scooter. He had criticized Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport, where he was subsequently interred, of having mishandled the placement of U.S. flags on veterans' graves. Alerted to the fraud by a cousin of Lawson, Norton said that he could not believe the story: "It just tears me up. It's heartbreaking. He's such a nice guy, I hate to see this happen."

After service in the Marines, Norton returned to his former post as a deputy for Caddo Parish Sheriff J. Howell Flournoy. His career thereafter was in automobile sales and management. In 1963, he was named "Citizen of the Year" by Ford Motor Company for his civic and religious dedication. He retired in 1990 as fleet manager for the Chevyland Chevrolet dealership in Shreveport. Besides the American Legion, Norton was active in the Lions International and the Episcopal Church. His Republican affiliations included associate membership in the Professional Republican Women's Club of Caddo Parish. Norton lost to Michael D. Long his District 8 seat on the Republican State Central Committee in the primary election held on March 9, 2004. A decade later, Norton was still active in the party in the successful 2014 campaign to elect Republican Bill Cassidy to the United States Senate from Louisiana.

Norton's older brother, George Thomas "T" Norton (1922-2002), a native of Nashville in Howard County in southwestern Arkansas, was a USMC gunny sergeant in World War II and remained in the military for the Korean War and Vietnam War. Afterwards, he was employed in real estate in Shreveport and like his brother was active in the American Legion. Upon his death, he was cremated, with his remains spread over the Wiley-Pevy American Legion post in Shreveport.

Norton and his wife of more than fifty-nine years, the former Sylvia Littlejohn (born November 1936), were world and national travelers. He was an accomplished dancer. The Nortons had a daughter, Lisa Norton Walker and husband, Clay, and a grandson, Jamie Walker. Norton died in Shreveport at the age of eighty-seven and was inurned in the columbarium of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Shreveport.