UPDATED with obituary.

Longtime Catoosa County Superior Court clerk Norman Stone died Saturday, Sept. 10. He was 72.

The legal community will deeply miss the former Ringgold High School teacher, as he has been a permanent fixture at the Catoosa County Courthouse since 1966.

Stone’s trademark booming voice has called court to order and announced verdicts for the past 45 years.

Stone was set to retire next year, at which time his current term in office would have ended.

Here is Norman Stone’s obituary, from Heritage Funeral Home in Fort Oglethorpe:

Norman Lynn Stone, 72, Ringgold, passed away Saturday, September 10, 2011, at his residence. Mr. Stone was a lifelong resident of North Georgia and member of Battlefield Parkway Church of the Nazarene. After receiving a B.S. in Mathematics, he taught mathematics at Ringgold High School for seven years. Mr. Stone then became the Clerk of the Superior Court for Catoosa County where he served for 44 years. He is the longest serving official in the county of an elected position. Mr. Stone is preceded in death by brothers, Bernard Stone and Basil Stone; and sister, Patricia Pressley. Mr. Stone is survived by his wife of 26 years, Jean Stone; son, Jeff Hughes, South Carolina; daughter, Stephanie Johnson, Ringgold; brother, Ben Stone Jr., Collegedale; sister, Wanda Earhart, Ringgold.. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Wednesday in the Battlefield Parkway Church of the Nazarene with Rev. Richard “Dick” Clark, Rev. Joe Brown and Jeff Hughes officiating. Interment will be in Catoosa Memorial Gardens. Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Seventh District Northwest Georgia Clerks of Court. Visit www.heritagefh.com to share words of condolences with the family and view memorial tribute. Memorial contributions may be made to the Walter E. Boehm Birth Defects Center, 975 East Third Street, Chattanooga, Tenn. 37403, or the Battlefield Parkway Church of the Nazarene Building Fund, 3220 Battlefield Parkway, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. 30742 The family would like to extend a special thank you to the office staff of Mr. Stone. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at Heritage Funeral Home and Crematory, Battlefield Parkway.

Visitations: 3:00PM to 8:00PM on Tuesday, September 13th, 2011 at Heritage Funeral Home & Crematory - Ft. Oglethorpe

Services: 11:00AM at Battlefield Parkway Church of the Nazarene on Wednesday, September 14th, 2011