Fred Norton: The Man Behind the Middlesex Health Hospice Golf Tournament
The late Fred Norton is remembered by friends and family as a successful businessman, a veteran and a sports enthusiast, but it was his experience as a survivor of colon cancer in his late 40s that inspired him to make a lasting impact on the community. Combining his love for golf with his desire to serve his community, Fred, who died in 2019 at the age of 91, co-founded the Middlesex Health Hospice Golf Tournament with John J. Kelley, Jr. This annual fundraiser has supported the health system’s Hospice Program for more than 37 years and allows Fred’s legacy to live on.
It’s important to Fred’s family to continue his work with the Hospice Golf Tournament. His daughters, Jill Norton and Cherie Norton, and his grandson, Ben Tierney, now all serve on the tournament’s committee, which plans the annual event.
“He was very proud of the golf tournament and very dedicated to it,” says Jill Norton.
Fred was born in Middletown and graduated from Middletown High School, where he excelled in basketball, baseball and football. He also played semi-professional baseball for the Middletown Giants in the late 1940s. His achievements in sports earned him a coveted spot in the Middletown Sports Hall of Fame in 2019, just months before his passing.
Not long after high school, Fred married Jeanne Treat and served in the National Guard. In 1950, he was stationed in Virginia and then deployed to Germany to serve in the U.S. Army as a sergeant. When he returned to the United States, he worked for Sears, where he met his future business partner. Together, they bought a well-known local soda company, Undina Beverages in Higganum. If you grew up in, or near, Middlesex County, you might remember drinking a bottle of Undina soda, especially the popular white birch beer flavor.
“When we were kids, instead of lemonade stands, we had soda stands,” says Cherie Norton. “One time, I remember that we ran out of soda at our little soda stand. My father’s company made quinine water and things that were a little unusual. So, we sold that!”
Fred was an accomplished golfer, and when he became a member of the Portland Golf Course in the 1980s, he found the perfect venue to create an event to give back to the community that he loved. As a hands-on organizer, Fred worked closely with Portland Golf Course owner John J. Kelley, Jr., to grow the Hospice Golf Tournament into what it is today.
“Working alongside Fred to establish the Middlesex Health Hospice Golf Tournament was a truly rewarding experience,” says Kelley. “Collaborating with him to build this annual fundraising event goes beyond the sport. It's about making a difference in people's lives.”
The tournament has raised a lifetime total of $1.2 million for the Middlesex Health Hospice Program, which provides compassionate care for patients who face life- limiting illnesses and their families. Many of the golfers have participated in the tournament for decades and have personal connections to the Hospice Program. They’ve either had family members or friends who were helped by the program.
In 2019, Fred was a patient in the Middlesex Health Hospice Program — the very same program he supported for so many years. Fortunately, he was able to celebrate his 69th wedding anniversary with his wife and extended family before his death.
Today, Fred is remembered as a loving husband, father, grandfather and great- grandfather, as well as a respected businessman, a loyal friend and a generous benefactor. He leaves a legacy of giving back to his community and a tradition of community support for the Hospice Program.
“It’s not about the golf,” says Kelley, “It’s about the people.”