Norman Jay Churchill

Norman Jay Churchill, 90 of Austintown, passed away on January 13, 2024 at Continuing Healthcare in Mineral Ridge.

Norman Jay Churchill, youngest child of Sylvanus and Mabel White Churchill, grew up in Bradford County, PA, with three older sisters. He graduated from Nichols NY High School in 1951. He was drafted during the Korean War and served at Thule Air Base on Greenland in the Arctic Circle. Afterwards he completed his college education at Williamson College in Delaware, OH, and Penn State University.

Memorial Day weekend 1959, he married the love of his life, Jean Carolyn. They had 64 years together, raising five children.

Dad was a rambler, who enjoyed his career with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture as a Soil Scientist. He loved tramping through the woods, collecting soil samples, and providing the family with a slow tour of Pennsylvania as he was transferred from county to county during his career.

He had a great sense of humor. One year, after working on a special Acid Rain project, he enjoyed giving his youngest children each a souvenir piece of coal for Christmas. Being a morning person for most of his life, he used to love making us all wake up with his rendition of “It’s morning, it’s morning, time to get up, it’s morning!” He liked to have some fun with mealtime prayers as well with the good ole “Rub-a-dub-dub, it’s time for some grub” along with the more traditional thanking for our food and service.

He loved working with wood on his own time, building tables and bookshelves from wood scraps he picked up left along the road by others. He was a firm believer in sturdy, permanent construction. If one nail/screw is good, a dozen is much better, plus lots of carpenter glue! His daughter discovered how thorough he was when she did her best to take apart his old workbench – major challenge, finally needing a sledgehammer!

While born with 10 fingers, he was well-known as an adult for only having 9. He was an example of why it’s best to have safety shield on a wood saw. When he had his accident, he came inside and calmly told my mom, who was on the phone, that he had cut himself. She told him to rinse the cut in the kitchen sink, and she’d be in when she finished her call. When she came in, she discovered he had neglected to say that he had cut his finger off (only hanging on by some skin). This happened in the 1970s, and forever afterwards he was 9 finger dad.

He also loved computers and genealogy. He took to computers right away when they were introduced to his workplace in the mid-1980s. And he spent decades researching his family history.

Dad is survived by his wife, daughter: Sara, and two sons: Stephen and Timothy.

Dad was pre-deceased by his three sisters: Thelma, Anita, and Wanda, son: James and daughter-in law: Karen.

The family will receive relatives and friends on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at Lane Funeral Home, Austintown Chapel from 1:30-2:00 PM with a service to follow at 2:00 PM. The family request memorial contributions be made to Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley, 2805 Salt Springs Road

Youngstown, Ohio 44509. To share thoughts of sympathies with the family visit lanefuneralhomes.com.