Lawrence (Larry) M. Norton (FEO Berlin) passed on September 12th 2018 in Berlin Germany. Anne-Marie Lasa( PAA Crew, Berlin) and myself, Heike Schiappacasse (Angelo Roca’s daughter) were present, easing his passing into the Light. He was 92 years old.Larry was born on June 28th, 1926, the youngest of 7 children in Fremont, Ohio. He soon found himself joining the Navy as a gunner and was stationed in San Francisco. After the war, he joined Pan Am as a flight engineer and traveled the world. Larry was equipped with a wicked sense of humor.
On his travels he learned about clean up crews in Hong Kong (cockroaches!), cognac served in highball glasses in his hometown, and love for the International Herald Tribune, which he read daily. He spent most of his Pan Am career flying out of Berlin. Marion Staehlin and Larry were married in 1967, and though divorced stayed friends for life. He chose to stay in Berlin for his retirement years. Larry was an avid reader of all things historical, taught himself German, and loved classic Jazz music. Ms. Lasa and Larry enjoyed the cultural and gourmet riches of Berlin together, weekly. Angelo Roca was his best buddy in Berlin and in New York. When the Airbus eliminated the need for flight engineers, they roomed together and flew Pan Am out of JFK. They both loved the 747 which took them across the globe….or should we say they took the 747 across the globe?
Larry was a witty, kind, generous, and fiercely independent gentleman. He will be dearly missed by many of the Pan Am “old timers”, Ms. Lasa, and me.