Nora Carroll Dalton, died Friday, March 16, 2012. She was 71. Memorial Mass 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 21, 2012 at Our Lady Of Lourdes Catholic Church, Harrisonville, MO. Visitation 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Tuesday at Our Lady of Lourdes with Rosary at 8:00 p.m. (Cremation)

Family & friends, facts & fiction, faith, film and football; these were just a few of the great passions that define the bundle of love that was Nora Dalton. Fiercely intelligent, she would also often play the lovable goof, quick with a smile, to brighten someone's day. Hers was a life defined by longtime loves and loyalties.

Born Nora Carroll Fenning, September 12, 1940 to James Carroll Fenning, who trained as a lawyer and worked for Jackson County, and the former Madlyn Madden, who worked as an Insurance Clerk. They encouraged a natural passion for learning and, in particular, reading. Perhaps her first and longest love affair was with reading. She read everything, and everywhere. Historical Fiction and Crime/Mystery were favorite genres, but she never limited herself. She would read in the car, on vacation, at home, anywhere and anything she could. She grew up around the area of 51st & Baltimore where she met her best friends, Kitty and Samyra. The Plaza and Loose Park were their stomping grounds. They would remain close for over 65 years. She attended Visitation School and graduated from St. Teresa's Academy in 1957. At the time of her death, she still counted many of her classmates as great friends. They would regularly meet for coffee or lunch.

In 1956, she met Joe Dalton, the love of her life. Their devotion for each other would last until his death in 2007. They married in 1958, after he graduated from Paseo, and quickly started a family. The marriage produced 6 children (2 girls, 4 boys) in less than 10 years. They settled in south Kansas City where Joe established a construction business and Nora took care of the household.

Growing up just before the emergence of TV, movies held a special passion in both Joe and Nora's hearts. To them, movies were like magic, and date night always involved dinner and a movie, even if it meant dragging six kids to the drive-in theater. They would go to a least one movie almost every week. The family would often spend Sundays at Lake Annette and at least part of the summer in the Ozarks of southwest Missouri.

When the kids started school, she did volunteer work as a teacher's aide, preparing school lunches, and lecturing on Art History. Blessed with a great memory and a keen mind, she loved to work puzzles and play trivia games. She watched "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" faithfully. Farmville almost became an obsession. Her powerful memory made her a natural as an Accredited Records Technician. Merely a week after being certified, she was hired by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. She would stay there for nearly two decades before accepting an early retirement offer. She then served in a similar capacity for another 8 years at Research Medical Center.

After retiring, she filled her time with travel, community service, movies, spending time with old friends and, of course, more reading. Of late, she was almost inseparable from her Kindle. Nora, or "Nanny" as she was known to her grandchildren, had a great fascination with history, particularly the Civil War. Her interest in history also led to a search for her own ancestry, a passion she shared with beloved daughter-in-law Shirley. They spent many hours traveling and searching through archives for clues about missing parts of their family trees. Her family tree is rooted in Ireland, something she explored on a trip there. She hoped to go back, but alas, it wasn't to be. She did visit England and Israel, and domestically, she travelled to over 30 states.

Another passion was sports, particularly professional football. Following them since their inception in the old AFL days, Nora was an avid Kansas City Chiefs fan. She later adopted the Minnesota Vikings as a second team. She "pitied them after they lost all those Super Bowls." She played Fantasy Football and always made weekly NFL picks, often doing better than the "experts."

A past President of her American Business Women's Association chapter, she also worked for adult literacy and food bank programs, among others. She raised money for many charities, St. Jude's being the closest to her heart, and also donated time to KCUR. She attended and taught Bible study and helped clean her church, Our Lady of Lourdes, in Harrisonville. A lifelong Democrat, she was a member of Cass County Women's Democratic Club and served as a grassroots campaigner for Barak Obama in 2008.

Nora was preceded in death by her parents and her husband J. J. (Joe) Dalton. She is survived by her six children, Jane (Donnie) Hamerle, Liberty, MO, Kate (Doug) Cox, East Lynne, MO, Joey (Brian Garretson) Dalton, St. Paul, MN; Jimmy Dalton, of the home; Tom (Shirley) Dalton, Kansas City, and Chris Dalton of the home. In addition, she is survived by her grandchildren, Sarah (Andy) Schneider, Jordan Dalton and a grandson due on her birthday; 8 step-grandchildren; her great-grandchildren, Aubrey and Brock, along with 13 others and 1 great-great grandchild.