James Norton, past president of Graphic Communications union

JAMES NORTON

Even when he was one of the most powerful organized labor officials in the country, James J. Norton reserved part of each day for prayer. From that hour at Mass, he brought to his work a sense of being part of something much larger than himself.

"I'm not an autocratic leader like some," he said for an oral history passage in Philip Quaglieri's "American Labor Leaders," published in 1990. "A labor union can't be a one-man operation. If it is, it can only suffer."

A more humble approach to life at the top may have sprung from his childhood, which was spent in a cold-water flat in South Boston that was heated by his family's stove. Mr. Norton, who rose to become president of the Graphic Communications International Union, died of sepsis Sunday at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth. He was 77 and had lived in Braintree for many years.

"From his earliest days in Boston as a skilled newspaper photoengraver, Jim brought intellect, integrity, and an enormous capacity for leadership to his work," John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, said in a statement. "As a member of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, Jim was a wise man, a statesman, and a uniter."

Still, family members said, Mr. Norton was at heart a regular guy from South Boston who preferred the company of his children and grandchildren and could easily assume a less exalted role away from the office.

"Sometimes we would travel with him to conventions or functions for the union, and everybody was vying for his attention because he was the president," said his son Donald of Braintree, who works in marketing at the Globe. "But at home, he was the guy who put up new wallpaper when my mother needed it."

During the years Mr. Norton led the Graphic Communications International Union, from 1985 to 2000, he also served on influential panels such as the AFL-CIO Executive Council and the boards of directors of the American Red Cross Board, Union Labor Life Insurance Co., and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

"He taught people how to listen, not rush into things, be reasonable, and have give and take on both sides," said William O. Taylor, chairman emeritus of the Globe, who preceded Mr. Norton as chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

"He wasn't a bulldog; that was a great trait of his," Taylor said. "His was a voice of reason."

The eldest of three children, Mr. Norton was the son of immigrants from Galway, Ireland, and earned money doing everything from shining shoes to singing and dancing in shows to help support his family while he was growing up in South Boston.

Continuing his academic studies after high school was out of the question.

"I could have gone to Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, but we needed the income at home," he said in the oral history, "so that ruled out going to college."

He became an apprentice photoengraver two years after graduating from high school in 1947, married Patricia Tuley in 1953, and entered the world of organized labor.

"I remember being sworn in at my first union meeting," he said for Quaglieri's book. "There were about 60 people in the hall, and they were talking national politics. They made a reference to the US president, and I thought, '. . . This is quite an organization.' "

Mr. Norton lost his first election to become scribe of his local, then won a year later. In 1963, he was appointed an international representative for the International Photoengravers Union of North America and was subsequently elected to higher union positions.

"I love my job, and I want to put my imprint on this organization," he said in the oral history a few years after being elected president of the Graphic Communications International Union, "but I don't want it to become my organization."

His sons suggested that their father's strong bond with Catholicism informed his measured approach to leadership.

"He was a selfless guy," said James F. of Braintree, Mr. Norton's eldest child. "When he was home, there were no pretenses. He did not act for a second with anybody as though he was this big shot from Washington, D.C., but that's what he was."

Donald Norton said his father "fit in with all kinds of crowds, but truly he was a very faith-filled man, and I think that gave him a lot of perspective. I think in many ways he saw it as a high calling to be able to affect the lives of the union members."

Mr. Norton was just as called to the lives of his children and grandchildren. The Nortons moved to northern Virginia for a decade during his time in top union posts, then bought a house in Braintree and Mr. Norton commuted to Washington. Nevertheless, he managed to regularly attend his children's extracurricular activities.

"He found a great way of balancing the family life with the professional life," said his son Robert of Braintree. "Everyone of us would swear that he attended virtually every sporting event or dance recital."

Mr. Norton lost his bid for reelection to the union presidency and stepped aside seven years ago, and "he considered that later on a bit of divine intervention and a revelation," his son James said. "I think he saw that as God telling him that he could spend more time with his grandchildren."

Back home full time, Mr. Norton became an altar server at 7 a.m. Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Braintree. At his 50th anniversary a few years ago, "my father could still cut a mean rug dancing the jitterbug," James said. And when the occasion arose, Mr. Norton regaled gatherings by singing Irish songs.

On St. Patrick's Day, the family traditionally would go to the parade in South Boston, then repair to a friend's house in the neighborhood.

"They all wanted to hear my father sing," James said. "When my father sang, everybody would listen. People would say, 'Jim, Jim, give us a song.' "

In addition to his wife and his sons, Mr. Norton leaves a daughter, Ann Marie of South Boston; three other sons, Thomas of Braintree, David of Quincy, and Brian of Sandwich; two sisters, Sister Mary Theresa Norton, SSJ, of Milton and Noreen Kelley of Dorchester; nine granddaughters; and nine grandsons.

A funeral Mass will be said today at 10:30 a.m. in St. Francis of Assisi Church. Burial will be in Braintree Cemetery.