After a short battle with cancer, Renee Norton passed away on August 24, 2026, in St. George, Utah. She was 86 years old.

Born March 3, 1940, in Greenbelt, Maryland, to Harold W. Norton and Ina Smith Norton, Renee was the oldest of three girls.

While she was still a toddler, her parents moved from Greenbelt to Grass Range, Montana, and ultimately to Milford, Utah. She grew up there enjoying the freedom of a small town and the freedom of a large, extended family. As a very young girl, she loved visiting family members, often to their surprise. She found a very good friend in the city, a librarian and would bring books home by the shopping bags full.

She graduated from Milford High School. After graduating, she attended Brigham Young University for two years. In 1962, she married into the Christmas family of Pasadena, California. She had two children, Robert N.H. Christmas and Julia Christmas. She was later divorced.

Renee spent several years living in both northern and southern California. She worked for a time in the office of a Nobel Laureate at UC Berkeley, where she worked with an interesting and diverse group of colleagues; one of them, from India, taught her how to make authentic curry, which became a family staple of holiday celebrations.

After Renee returned to Utah, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Southern Utah State College and a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Utah.

Renee always loved children and demonstrated an outstanding gift for working with them. Because of this ability, other health professionals encouraged her to pursue a doctorate in her field. Following this encouragement, she completed the very challenging path to obtaining her doctoral degree at the University of Utah.

While Renee was working for the State of Utah’s Handicapped Children’s Services, she participated with other specialists in many traveling clinics. The team traveled across the state, assessing and providing help to children in need of medical and educational assistance. She had special insight into the needs and situations of the children she worked with. For years afterward, those whom she assisted would approach her and express how grateful they were for the help she had given. She truly made a difference in many, many lives.

After being seriously hurt in a car accident that left her with life-changing injuries, Renee had to retire from the work she so loved. Following the accident, she moved to St. George to help care for her parents.

Renee loved beauty and had a talent for collecting, arranging, and creating lovely things. She had a special gift for putting together beautiful flower arrangements which graced many spots in her home. She especially loved dolls, which she collected, made, and dressed in exquisite detail.

Renee was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although her health did not permit her to attend regularly, her faith was firm in her Savior Jesus Christ, in prayer, and in her ultimate reunion with her family, including all those whom she so loved to visit as a child.

Her cheerfulness, sense of humor, and kindness were often remarked upon by those who met her, and these traits meant that she was very much loved. She will be greatly missed.

Funeral services will be held Monday, August 31st, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. at the Metcalf Bonzo Mortuary 288 West. St. George Blvd., St. George, UT. A visitation will be held on Monday, August 31st, from 12:00-12:45 p.m. prior to services at the mortuary. Interment will be held Tuesday, September 1st, at 1:00 p.m., in the Milford City Cemetery, 200 South 300 West, Milford, UT.