Peggy Norton Barton passed away at her home at the age of 87. Peggy was born on a cold day in January 1937 on a cotton farm outside Town Creek, Alabama. She attended the public schools in Town Creek and graduated with honors from Hazlewood High School, in Town Creek. Peggy attended Florence State College and graduated with honors with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. She next attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville as a graduate assistant in chemistry. While in Knoxville, Peggy met her future husband, Ken Barton.
Peggy left graduate school to teach high school chemistry, first at South Cobb High School in Georgia, and then at Muscle Shoals High School in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
On September 8, 1963, Peggy married First Lieutenant Kenneth R. Barton, and they began their married life at the U.S. Army Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland. In 1964, Ken and Peggy moved to Kingsport, Tennessee, where they lived for the next 32 years and raised two children, Stephen Arthur Barton and Penny Ann Barton. Ken and Peggy retired and moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina in 1996.
Peggy was a lifelong, faithful Southern Baptist. She was active in the Women’s Missionary Union at First Baptist Church in Kingsport, Tennessee, and a member of Fernwood Baptist Church in Spartanburg.
Peggy was preceded in death by her parents, Arthur and Lula Norton, and her brother Melvin Norton.
She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Ken; their children, Steve (Irene) Barton, Penny (Nic) Arning; and their grandchildren, Casey Barton, Alex Barton, and Matthew Arning, who were her greatest joy.
The family is grateful to the nurses and caregivers who cared for Peggy during her recent illness. The family will receive friends from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., on Thursday, December 19, 2024, followed by a funeral service at 1:00 p.m., at Floyd’s Greenlawn Chapel, 2075 E. Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29307. Burial will be in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens and services will be con- ducted by the Rev. Randy Wright. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Fernwood Baptist Church, 200 Fernwood Dr., Spartanburg, SC 2.
