Jerry Norton

Three months past his 92nd birthday, Jerry Norton has enjoyed a wide-ranging professional career. A veteran of the Korean Conflict, and a Columbia University graduate, he spent forty years developing sophisticated airborne radar systems for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force. After retiring as Grumman Melbourne Systems' Director of Engineering, he embarked on a second 25-year career as a sports photojournalist. Along the way, he found time to write nine books and coach thousands of kids in...See more

Three months past his 92nd birthday, Jerry Norton has enjoyed a wide-ranging professional career. A veteran of the Korean Conflict, and a Columbia University graduate, he spent forty years developing sophisticated airborne radar systems for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force. After retiring as Grumman Melbourne Systems' Director of Engineering, he embarked on a second 25-year career as a sports photojournalist. Along the way, he found time to write nine books and coach thousands of kids in football, baseball, softball, and Special Olympic wheelchair tennis. He is recognized as youth sports' greatest ambassador. Four years ago, as therapy for chronic pain, he took up oil painting and, despite vision in only one eye, used his skills as an author/artist to create his "...from my palette" series of picture books. In 1995, Jerry received the Chamber of Commerce Local Hero Award. In 2015 the Ponte Vedra Athletic Association honored him as Man of the Year, and in 2022, Jerry received the Art of Giving Award from the First Coast Cultural Center, an award given to an individual committed to sustaining arts and cultural programs within the Florida Beaches community. See less