Merton Alvin Norman, creator and operator of Norman Camera for 44 years, went to be with his Heavenly Father, May 21, 2023. Born in Plainwell, MI, Aug. 4, 1937, to Leonard and Dora Norman, Mert was the third of five children, and had resided in West Michigan all his life.
As a boy, Mert excelled as a baseball player until he was afflicted with polio at age 15. Then bedridden, doctors told him he would never walk again and not live past 40. Refusing to be defeated, Mert fought the prognosis and exercised rigorously until he could stand up. He walked for more than 50 years. And he lived to be 85. Never using a handicap for an excuse, Mert founded Norman Camera Company and successfully ran the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek business for nearly half a century.
Mert married Phyllis Diane Sturgis in 1967, to whom he had been a loving and faithful husband for over 55 years. He fathered Brian, Julie and Angela Norman, was an amazing provider, and always set for his children and grandchildren a consistent example of honesty, integrity, dependability, and hard work. Mert was a generous donor to several organizations and a member of the Immanuel Fellowship Church for 23 years, where he served as a deacon. Most importantly of all, Mert accepted the free gift of eternal salvation by asking God to forgive him of all his sins through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Because he did this, he is now in glory, enjoying life with his Lord and with others who before having died, did the same.
Mert is preceded in death by his two daughters and one grandson, Julie Ann Norman, Angela Marie (Norman) Moore, and Wyatt Josiah Norman. He is also preceded in death by his two sisters, Reta Sackett and Marlene Whitman.
He is survived by his wife, Phyllis; his son, Brian; his daughter-in-law, Virginia; his son-in-law, Tom Moore; nine grandchildren; and his brothers, Melvin and Dennis Norman. He will be dearly missed until we join him on the other side – our bodies healed – and forever gloriously alive.
Visitation will be held Friday, June 9, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Langeland Family Funeral Homes Burial & Cremation Services, 3926 S 9th St., Kalamazoo, MI, 49009. A funeral service will take place Saturday, June 10, at 11 a.m. at the Immanuel Fellowship Church, 6015 W H Ave, Kalamazoo. Interment will follow immediately in Grand Prairie Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, consider donating in Mert’s name to Immanuel Fellowship Church or Shalom, Inc, P.O. Box 265, Kalamazoo, MI, 49004.
To share a memory or leave a condolence for the family visit https://www.langelands.com