Norman Edward Booth was born in Cohoes, New York, on July 24, 1930. His parents were
Harry W. and Marjorie Taylor Booth. He spent his childhood in Southern California and in 1952
graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Los Angeles State College. In 1953 he enlisted in
the United States Navy as a naval aviation cadet, undergoing flight training at Pensacola Naval Air
Station.
In Pensacola, he met Angeline (Ann) Canterbury, whom he married on September 4, 1955, in
Panama City, Florida. They had three children: Dana Lynn, born on November 17, 1956; Angeline
Gaye, born on April 10, 1964; and David Norman, born on March 20, 1968.
Upon completing Naval Air Intelligence School in 1956, Norman was promoted to lieutenant
j.g. He served as an air intelligence officer with the VF-101 Fighter Squadron in Jacksonville and
Key West and aboard the U.S.S. Saratoga before his release to inactive duty in 1958.
Norman then attended Emory University and received a Master of Divinity degree in 1960. He
was admitted to the Florida Conference on trial in 1958, was ordained a deacon in 1959, and in 1961 was ordained an elder
and commissioned a lieutenant in the Chaplain Corps, U.S. Naval Reserves. He served as associate, Swaim Memorial,
Jacksonville, 1960-61; Forestview, Jacksonville, 1961-63; and Jasper, 1963-65. In 1965, he went to Tallahassee to organize and
build Gray Memorial and to begin graduate studies at Florida State University. He received a Master of Arts in History in 1971
and continued post-graduate work in educational curriculum.
From 1966 until his retirement in 1996 Norman taught history and economics at Leon High School in Tallahassee, where
he chaired the Social Studies Department and served as Senior Class sponsor. During his tenure there, he touched thousands
of young lives.
Norman continued to serve in the Florida Conference as pastor of "Old" Pisgah United Methodist Church near
Tallahassee, 1971-86, revitalizing that historic church. In his dual roles as minister and historian, he authored histories of
Pisgah and Trinity in Tallahassee. Through his efforts, Pisgah was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974,
and in 1986 was named a Historic Site of the United Methodist Church. He served on the Commission on Archives and History
as conference historian, 1992-2008. He retired from the conference in 1986.
In their retirement years Norman and Ann were active at the Tallahassee Senior Center as both participants and
volunteers. They particularly enjoyed the dance programs there and attended numerous dance festivals and workshops
throughout the Southeast. In recognition of active aging, they were selected as Silver Stars by the Tallahassee Senior Center
and Foundation in 2010.
Norman died on August 25, 2016. He is survived by his wife of sixty-one years, Ann Canterbury Booth; his children: Dana
Booth Ferrell and husband Bob; Angie Booth and partner Rachelle Denmark; and David Booth and wife Alexis and their two
children, Connor and Amelia.
The funeral service was held at Trinity United Methodist Church in Tallahassee on August 31, 2016, with the Reverend
Wayne D. Wiatt officiating. Interment with military honors was on September 1, 2016, in Evergreen Memorial Gardens in
Panama City, Florida.
Submitted by: Ann Booth