Derek Arthur Norfield

Born in Bromley, England, May 24, 1947, he was the son of the late Arthur James Norfield and Constance Brooks Norfield.

Derek worked through an apprenticeship at Small Electric Motors in Kent, UK before becoming the CEO for Reutlinger, which moved the family to Dayton, Ohio in 1979. He then accepted a job in Lynchburg, Va with American Hofmann in 1984. Derek and the family decided Lynchburg was home after working and travelling all over the world. As an English man working for a German company, he managed to travel through all of the continental United States, Mexico, China, Japan, South Korea, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Canada and many other countries.

He even published a book about his specialty, Balance and Vibration in Manufacturing Machines. While he was considered an expert by his peers, that reputation was damaged with his family when he tried to balance a ceiling fan with a quarter and may have caused a mirror to be broken in the process at Doyle and Ruby’s house when the quarter was launched off the ceiling fan.

Derek had the desire to work through his retirement and give back to the community he loved. His vision to help families live comfortably at home through their elder years inspired him to open the Visiting Angels office in Lynchburg, partnering with his wife, Marilyn and son, Mike. He was proud of the many awards that this endeavor earned for the excellent reputation and care given to every client.

His ability to connect with people from every walk of life came from his deeply rooted faith and he lived that faith every day of his life. He was a Deacon and member of Gethsemane Baptist Church for over 35 years. He loved to play bass at the church and add a little extra soul to the music program. Serving in many different roles at the church alongside his best friend of 35 years, Carlton Duck, brought a lot of joy to his life.

The time of year he loved the most was the yearly trip to Lake Anna. All of his family in one place together for a week brought many memories on the family boat the “Flying Pig.” Even going to the extreme of convincing his grandchildren that flying pigs were real.

His joy for his grandchildren motivated him to be there when they were born or as shortly after their birth as he could be there. This is a drastic change in excitement from when his son Michael was due, and he came from the hospital for lunch with his in-laws and didn’t mention Michael had been born until he was asked how Marilyn was doing. He simply responded, “Marilyn and the baby are doing fine.” They learned to ask specific questions after this instance.

He went from lying on the couch for 3 days exhausted from illness to up and ready to go when he heard his first great grandson had been born. He was determined to meet CJ before he would give up his fight. It was important to him to celebrate 4 generations of Norfields.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son, Mike Norfield (Sheena) of Lynchburg and his daughter, Claire Stapleton (Mark) of Springfield; seven grandchildren, Julian, Nikolas, Max, Wushi and Isobel Stapleton, Christopher Norfield (Jessi) and Dylan Norfield and one great grandson, C.J. Norfield.

A special thank you to all of the staff at Pearson Cancer Center through over 66 infusions and 1000 pills for cancer treatment. While all of their staff are amazing, JT was with him through all 5 years of his treatment, and they formed a special friendship.

A service celebrating his life and faith will be conducted at 11:00 am Saturday, January 18, 2025 at Gethsemane Baptist Church with Pastor Carlton Duck officiating.

The family will receive friends for one hour prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family request memorial contributions be made to Gethsemane Baptist Church, PO Box 10152, Lynchburg, VA 24506 or to the Centra Foundation Patient fund. This will provide financial assistance to those that otherwise may not be able to afford treatments.

www.centrahealth.com/foundation/where-give#cancer-care