Shelter Island Reporter obituary: Nancy Olsen-Norton

Nancy Olsen-Norton suffered a massive heart attack at her Shelter Island home on Sept. 20, 2025. 

Despite heroic efforts by the Shelter Island Town EMS, on Sept. 20 she passed away at Stony Brook University Hospital, surrounded by family and some of her favorite songs. Nancy was able to donate two kidneys and her liver through LiveOnNY.

Nancy was born in Brooklyn on Sept. 7, 1953. She grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, “under the Verrazano Bridge before there was a bridge,” and graduated from Fort Hamilton High School in 1971. After graduating from Wheaton College in 1975, she became an English teacher and National Honor Society advisor at Hinsdale South High School in Darien, Ill. Nancy was repeatedly Teacher of the Year, described by a fellow teacher as “a champion of the shy students in the margins at school.”

She was proud of her Norwegian heritage. Her grandfather had been lighthouse keeper at the southernmost tip of Norway. Her father Arnfin was the first to come to Shelter Island, delivering oil to Piccozzi’s as a ship captain for Mobil. He described it as “this is as close to Norway as we are going to find in America.”

Nancy first came to the Island in 1983, together with her sister Marilyn’s family. She loved the local culture of the Island, guided by friends such as Skip Tuttle, Ron Wilson, and the Kaasik family. In 1995 she purchased the old Salvation Army Home for Wayward Women at 50 North Cartwright Road, and renovated it with love.

Nancy met her husband Andy when she lent him an umbrella in a rainstorm after a Chicago folk music concert. Both over 40 and never previously married, they became engaged in six weeks and married in seven months. They recently celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary at The Islander.

Nancy and Andy loved music and travel. In retirement they split their time among Shelter Island, Chicago, Sun Valley, and New York City. Nancy was highly attuned to the nuances of shape and color in the sky and water. She would often say “Vi er så heldig,” — “We are so fortunate!”

Nancy is survived by her husband Andy Norton, sister Marilyn Olsen of Brooklyn, sister- and brother-in-law Betsy and Dan Norton-Middaugh of Seattle, and nieces Casey and Laine Middaugh of Seattle, Sonja Olsen Savage of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and Karin Olsen of Gillett, Penn.

There will be a service at the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 1, followed by a luncheon. All are welcome. Donations in Nancy’s memory are requested to the Shelter Island Ambulance Foundation — siambulancefoundation.org — or the LiveOnNY Foundation — liveonny.org/contact/.