Janine Simone Norton

Obituary of Janine Simone Norton

With great sadness, we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Janine Simone Norton, age 96,

residing at Riddle Village Life Care center in Delaware County, PA. She passed away July 21, 2022,

with her family at her side. She was one of twelve children born on August 3rd, 1925, to parents

Louis-Philippe and Cécile Desjardins in the small provincial Canadian town of Saint-Jérôme, located

forty-five kilometers northwest of Montreal, Québec.

Janine married the late Paul John Norton in 1954, and they lived briefly in Ridley Park, PA, Norwood, PA,

and then Glenolden, PA, for the next thirty-eight years. She remained there after Paul’s passing until

2006, then moved into Riddle Village Life Care Center in Media, PA, where she spent her final sixteen

years. She is survived by all five of her children Camille Norton, Paul John Norton Jr (Colleen), Peter

Norton (Christine), Janine Beale (Bree), and Leslie Norton. She is survived by four grandchildren,

Christopher Beale Jr, Ashley Beale, Michelle Norton, John Paul Norton, and one great-grandchild Alexis

Beale. She is also survived by three remaining sisters, Cécile, Thérèse, Lucille, and one brother,

Louis-Philippe, and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, and friends.

Janine attended primary and secondary education in a private Catholic convent in Canada, forming a

foundation of faith for her lifetime. She soon participated in some college courses in pharmacology. Her

first job was at a small pharmacy in Saint-Jérôme; later, she got a better job at a larger pharmacy in

Montreal. While on vacation with friends in Atlantic City, NJ, she met her future husband. He wooed her at

the Steel Pier, and they became pen pals after she returned home to Canada. He later went to Canada

and proposed marriage, and she accepted. They were married in St. Catherine Cathedral in Montreal on

February 6, 1954. She then moved to the US with her new husband and raised five children. After her

children were mostly grown, she started a new career as a cosmetics salesperson and makeup artist for

Max Factor, Charles de Ritz, and Lancôme. She retired after fifteen years as the top sales professional in

the Philadelphia region. She enjoyed her retired life at the New Jersey shore with her husband until his

passing in 1998.

Janine was a remarkable person full of ambition with an inquisitive mind and a true zest for life. She was

a role model for what a self-determined modern woman should be before it was common and left a clear

template for her equally determined daughters to follow. For her sons, she pushed them to be the best

they could be. Later in life, she partially lost her sight to Macular Degeneration, yet she persevered,

determined not to be a wilting flower. Instead, she triumphed with her cane and talking books. She

exercised daily with a rigid routine of swimming at the pool and then walking around the Riddle Village

compound. This continued even as her illness progressed until just weeks before her death. Her belief in

her Catholic faith carried her through with dignity to the end.

Janine lived a long and full life and always moved forward with a positive attitude. She met all obstacles

in her path and found the inner strength to conquer them. She had a tremendous sense of family love

which she passed on to her children. They will remember her as a courageous lion, an unstoppable force,

and a loving mother.

Relative and friends are invited to her visitation on Monday 10 AM – 11 AM in the Church of the Nativity

BVM, 30 E. Franklin St., Media, PA 19063 followed by her Funeral Mass at 11 AM. Burial in S.S. Peter &

Paul Cemetery