HAMLET — One of Richmond County’s most beloved former student-athletes, educator and coach lost his long, hard-fought battle with cancer on Wednesday.
Jason Norton, 47 of Hamlet, passed away after a four-year fight with cancer. The acting athletic director at Pine Forest High School since 2015, Norton fought the illness after being diagnosed in 2016.
A Richmond County native and a 1990 graduate of Richmond Senior High School, Norton was a friendly face to students and athletes at Richmond and Hamlet Middle School for the better part of the last quarter century.
Last week, Norton was named HighSchoolOT’s “Stuart Scott Courage Award” winner. In March, Norton tweeted an update to his friends and family regarding his health situation.
“My oncologist called and said that I have reached a point to where nothing else can be done,” his March 26 post read. “I was given a time frame of 6 months. I want to let everyone know who has made a difference in my life that I love you. It’s in God’s hands.”
Not only was Norton widely loved and respected by his hometown of Richmond County, but the Pine Forest community also rallied their athletic director during the last several years.
Social media platforms were filled with friends, co-workers and former players remembering their coach.
“Pine Forest lost a member of its family today with the passing of our Athletic Director Jason Norton,” the Pine Forest basketball team tweeted Wednesday. “Prayers go up for his family and loved ones during this terrible time.
“Jason fought the good fight and he now sits with his lord and savior with no more pain or worries. Love you.”
A multi-sport athlete for the Raiders in the late 1980s, Norton was a member of the inaugural soccer team in 1987. He played two more years under former head coach Bennie Howard, who has known Norton for 32 years.
Also during the high school fall sports season, Norton served as the Raiders’ placekicker. He played on the 1988 and 1989 state championship teams, and was a kicking assistant on the 2008 state title squad.
Following his time with the Raiders, Norton went on to be a four-year starter at Catawba College. From 1991 through 1994, he was the Indians’ punter and among his list of accolades were being named to the first team All-South Atlantic Conference roster and a third-team All-American following his senior season.
“Jason means a lot to many of us for a lot of different reasons,” current Raider head coach Bryan Till said. “He was really a great guy, and was the type of coach who made it worthwhile for the kids.
“Sports and coaching were ingrained in him,” he added. “He’d stop by our practices and offices to talk and be around the game. Jason couldn’t stay away from the game, even when he was sick. That’s just the type of person he was.”
Norton returned home in 1997 and began working at Hamlet Middle and coached basketball, baseball and football until 2004. He then moved to Richmond to teach math, where he also served a variety of roles within the athletic department.
Among his coaching duties at the high school were the varsity football kicking coach, the head junior varsity football coach, an assistant baseball coach, and he served one season as the Raiders’ interim head baseball coach.
“Jason coached a little bit of everything, which is what made him such a great athletic director,” Hal Shuler, Richmond’s assistant head football coach, said. “I remember telling him it would be a good idea to leave and become an AD and he did a great job at Pine Forest.
“One day we hoped he’d have the chance to come back to Richmond as our AD,” he continued. “His home meant everything to him.”
Shuler reminisced and noted Norton “was money from 40 or 45 yards out” as a kicker in high school.
Norton is survived by his wife Lauren and their three sons: Alex, Kevin and Jase. Alex and Kevin were both former Raider standout football players, with Alex starting on the offensive line at the Air Force Academy for four years. Kevin is currently a senior o-lineman at his dad’s alma mater.
The Richmond Observer will publish a special feature on Norton next week, complete with interviews and stories from former colleagues, coaches and student-athletes.
