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A Paddle Out for Gregory Allen Norton
Junior was held on Sunday, September 10 at 3 PM, at the Wash Out
on Folly Beach, near the pink house.
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A Personal
Message from Greg Norton's Parents Before the Paddle Out...
The East Coast Surfing Association is conducting a "Paddle Out" for
Gregory on Sunday, Sept 10th at 3:00 pm, at the "pink house" area of
the wash out. We want to invite everyone who helped us last
year to come as we celebrate Gregory's love of surfing and Folly
Beach. We are so excited about celebrating the anniversary of the
day Gregory went to Heaven in this way. Please come out and
meet us.
Best Regards,
Greg and Cindy Norton
Gregory's Mom and Dad |
Greg ran sound for his church band above.
September 12th & 14th 2005 News Stories on Greg Norton
can be read below.
Joseph Elliott Hiller, 42, of Mount Pleasant, SC,
died Thursday morning,
January 5, 2006, in New Bern, NC after a long battle with brain
cancer. Joe was born December 18, 1963, in Atlanta, GA, the son of
Dr. Carl Hiller and Anne Fowler Hiller. He was raised in New Bern,
NC, graduated from the College of Charleston and moved to Raleigh,
NC. His love of the ocean and surfing eventually called him back to
Charleston in 1997. Joe realized his dream of opening Liquid Motion
Surf Shop in Sweetgrass Shopping Center in Mount Pleasant. Joe's
magnetic personality attracted many loyal customers to the surf
shop, many of which became like family. Joe's positive attitude
towards life inspired everyone that met him and he always recognized
the good in others. His easy-going manner made him beloved to all
his friends and family. Joe had an uncanny ability to make everyone
in his presence smile, even during the worst of his illness. He will
be remembered for his warm character, sense of humor and infectious
smile. Everyone who knew him loved him. Joe loved surfing, golf,
music, his animals, and having good times with his family and
friends. Joe made a daily habit of going to the beach at sunrise to
take the time and thank God for his many blessings. He will be
greatly missed by his beloved wife Dana, soon to be born sons Lucas
and Jacob, parents Ann and Carl Hiller of New Bern, NC, sister
Scottie Hiller of Tortola, BVI, his in-laws, Bill and Sandy Narcisso
of Mt. Pleasant, Andy and Tiffany Narcisso of Daniel Island, SC,
many aunts, uncles, and cousins in Mt. Pleasant and Greenville, SC,
and countless friends. A celebration of Joe's life will be held at
Seacoast Church, 750 Longpoint Road, Mount Pleasant, on Monday,
January 9, 2006. The family will receive visitors from 3 to 4 p.m.,
with a memorial service at 4 p.m. In lieu of flower, donations can
be made in Joe's name to Seacoast Church, 750 Long Point Road, Mt.
Pleasant, SC 29464 or The Brain Tumor Center at Duke, Duke
University Medical Center, PO Box 3624, Durham, NC 28561. Visit our
guestbook at www.charleston.net/deaths.
September 12, 2005
Surfer vanishes off Folly
Authorities say they will resume search today.
Divers will return to the waters off
Folly Beach this morning in search of a missing 18-year-old surfer,
authorities said.
Greg Allen Norton Jr. of Goose Creek
was surfing at 2 p.m. Sunday with several friends about 200 feet
from shore among three- to four- foot waves during high tide when he
disappeared, according to George Tittle, director of public safety
for Folly Beach.
Friends said Norton was not tethered
to his board, according to Tittle.
Folly Beach police launched a
search-and-rescue operation and requested support from the
Charleston County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Coast Guard and Charleston
County Rescue Squad, Tittle said.
Two helicopters, three boats and two
jet skis were deployed to the area just south of the fishing pier,
and six divers were searching a wide swath of ocean from Third
Street West to the southernmost point of Folly Beach, about a mile
and a half away, said Lt. Jack Scarborough of the Sheriff's Office.
Although Hurricane Ophelia stirred up
the waters off the South Carolina shore, divers said the currents
were manageable but that the water becomes more active and difficult
to navigate when the tide moves in or out.
By early evening Tittle was not
optimistic Norton would be found.
"We're in recovery mode right now,"
he said.
Tittle said he would rely on a
skeleton crew to monitor the beach with spotlights during the night
in case Norton washes ashore.
Distraught friends and family were
gathered on the porch of a nearby house. The Rev. Bill Youngblood of
Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy said Norton's brother, sister, father,
friends and church pastor were awaiting Norton's mother and
consoling one another as hope faded and rescue workers wound down
their operation for the night.
Norton was there one moment and gone the
next, witnesses said. Only his surfboard was seen floating on the
water.At least two witnesses
said sharks had been seen in the area at the time of his
disappearance and that Norton might have been pulled under the water
by one.
Alton Wiggins, who was surfing Sunday
at Folly Beach, said he spoke with a friend of Norton's who was
nearby when Norton disappeared. "He said a surfer had been pulled
under," he said, and that a shark was involved. "He said he saw him
get hit and pulled under."
Norton's surfboard was recovered and
bore no signs of a shark bite, police said.
Another witness, Karla Winningham of
Summerville, said sharks were spotted swimming in the area where
Norton had been.
"I saw the fins," she said.
Others reported seeing porpoises,
Tittle said. Authorities are treating the case as a search for a
missing surfer, not a shark attack, he said.
He expects to fully resume the
recovery operation at daybreak and has asked authorities on Kiawah
Island and elsewhere down the coast to be on the lookout.
"Right now we're working for the
family, trying to make sure we do everything we can do," Tittle
said.
Adam Parker can be reached at aparker@postandcourier.com
or 607- 0806.
Staff writer Schuyler Kropf
contributed to this report.
Credit: Of The Post and Courier Staff
Coast Guard stops search for
surfer, but Folly workers, volunteers keep on
Copyright The Post and Courier Sep
14, 2005
FOLLY BEACH--The Coast Guard suspended its search for a missing
surfer as city rescue workers and volunteers battled 40 mph gusts
and 6-foot waves Tuesday during their search for Greg Allen Norton
Jr.
Officials at Folly Beach were only able to use personal watercrafts
and boats as they searched the Folly River and south to Kiawah
Island.
"We're totally frustrated," said Folly Beach Police Chief George
Tittle. "It's frustrating because we cannot simply find him and
return him to his family."
While the Coast Guard suspended its operation Monday night, at least
20 rescue workers and volunteers used boats, personal watercrafts or
walked the beach with binoculars during intermittent rain bands
caused by Hurricane Ophelia. Tittle spent the day coordinating
search efforts and updating family members.
"We've searched everywhere that we believe he could have drifted,"
said Robert Taylor, a spokesman with the Coast Guard. "If he was on
the surface, we feel like we would have found him."
Tittle said he would keep searching today, but he might be forced to
reduce the number of officers involved.
Norton, 18, of Goose Creek, disappeared Sunday afternoon while
surfing with four friends 200 feet from the shore in 3- to 4-foot
waves.
Some surfers have said Norton was attacked by a shark, but Tittle
has dismissed the idea.
"We can't confirm a shark attack," Tittle said.
A senior at Northwoods Academy, Norton had some surfing experience.
If he was surfing with friends, he was likely a fairly experienced
surfer, said Bubber Hutto of the Charleston chapter of the Surfrider
Foundation.
The surfing community on Folly Beach has been hit hard by Norton's
disappearance, he said.
"We are a close-knit community," Hutto said. "We don't like to see
anyone get hurt."
Credit: Of The Post and Courier Staff
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further
reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
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Greg
Norton's
