Richard Charles Norton, age 67, passed away on Wednesday, November 4, 2015, at the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse. He was born on February 22, 1948, in Madison to Neil and Sylvia (Falkenstein) Norton.

He graduated in 1966 as the Valedictorian of his class from Oregon High School. He then went on to MATC, where he earned an associate degree in Civil Engineering. He married Eileen Andreas in 1967 and they later divorced. He worked for many years as a carpenter, a farmer and was known as a "Jack of all Trades" by his family and friends. His grandchildren lovingly called him Papa and he was so proud to accept that role.

Richard is survived by his life partner, Linda Olson of Viroqua; three children, Colleen Boettcher (Scott Miller) of Brooklyn, Angie (Kevin) Elmer of Oregon, Rich Norton (Christy McCredie) of Brooklyn; two sisters, Mary Maly of Madison, Sue Rennhack of Oregon; one brother, Robert (Bonnie) Norton of McFarland; nine grandchildren, Nicole, Morgan, Jayce, Ava, Anthony, Lillian, Alex, Silas, and Seth; Linda's children, Dan, Jeff, and Jason Olson and their families. He is further survived by his beloved pets, Maizy and Dakota; special friends, Dennis Boettcher, the Bill Clark family, the John Clark family; and many other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Tom Norton; and brother-in-law, David Rennhack.

A special thank you to all of the family and friends who were there to support us the past few weeks.

A visitation was held from 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m., on Monday, November 9, 2015, at the Thorson Funeral Home in Viroqua with a memorial service at 6:45 p.m. An additional visitation concluding with a memorial service was held on Tuesday, November 10, 2015, at the Becker-Beal Funeral Home in Belleville, WI, from 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Online condolences can be sent to info@thorsonfuneralhome.com. An online memorial with guestbook is available at http://www.bealfuneralhomes.com.