In Memory of Rose Norton (1930–2025)

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Rose Norton, El Nido Family Centers’ beloved matriarch and first Board President.

Rose died on July 24, 2025, at the age of 95. Her leadership, advocacy, and unwavering commitment to children and families left an indelible mark on El Nido and helped build the strong foundation that has carried us to our Centennial year. 

Rose’s story with El Nido began when she joined the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) at 25 years old.  At that time, El Nido was a summer camp for undernourished girls in Laurel Canyon, then a program of NCJW. When El Nido evolved and separated from NCJW to become an independent nonprofit in 1979, Rose’s vision and courage were instrumental. Serving as our first Board President from 1979 to 1981, she guided the formation of El Nido’s first independent board. During her presidency, the agency received the Fluor Award for innovative programming. 

Rose often described herself as a “professional volunteer,” a title she more than earned by devoting thousands of hours to causes she loved. She truly loved El Nido, and we loved her. Her vision and commitment were nothing short of extraordinary, and we would not be the organization we are today without her leadership. To honor her decades of dedication, El Nido established the Rose Norton Volunteer of the Year Award, which continues to celebrate those who embody her spirit of service. 

Rose was a proud resident of Beverly Hills, where she lived for 65 years, establishing a family tradition of public service with her beloved husband, Mayor Ben Norton (1983–84), and her late son, Phil Savenick, who had been President of the Beverly Hills Historical Society. We are deeply grateful to have been part of the lives of Ben and Phil too, who, like Rose, gave so much of their time and energy to the betterment of their community. 

Rose will be remembered as a dynamic, intelligent, and courageous leader who poured her heart into El Nido and the lives of countless Angelenos. As she once said, “I have always had a determination to make things change and am not willing to accept the status quo.” That determination lives on in the work we do every day.