The HVAC industry lost a legend with the passing of John Windsor Norris Jr. 

Norris Jr. was the grandson of Lennox founder D.W. Norris. He passed away on Jan. 21, surrounded by his loved ones. He will always be remembered as a titan of the HVAC industry for his decades of leadership at Lennox.

“John Norris Jr. was a great leader whose vision, passion, and positive culture built Lennox and still contribute to our everyday success,” said current Lennox CEO Alok Maskara. “I was fortunate to meet Mr. Norris when I first joined Lennox. It was an inspirational moment, as he had such an incredible impact on the trajectory of Lennox. He led the company through its IPO and created the commercial HVAC and refrigeration segments. His actions transformed the company. We would not be the Lennox we are today without the leadership of John Norris Jr.”

Norris Jr. was born into a family of HVAC icons and innovators in February 1936 in Marshalltown, Iowa, a small town about 40 miles northeast of Des Moines. His grandfather was a newspaper publisher when he met an inventor by the name of Dave Lennox, who in 1895 had developed the first riveted steel furnace. D.W. Norris bought the Lennox Furnace Co. from the crafty inventor in 1904.

Norris Jr. was born to work in the HVAC industry. Eager to join the family business, he apprenticed on the maintenance crew at Lennox in his teenage years. Norris Jr. went on to further his education at Grinnell College for two years, and then graduated from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After graduating from MIT, he officially joined Lennox in 1960.

That was the beginning of a long and distinguished career, as Norris Jr. worked his way up through various roles in nearly every department, eventually becoming CEO and board chairman.

He led Lennox through significant achievements and milestones, setting up its future success. He was instrumental in the relocation of Lennox from Marshalltown to Richardson, Texas, leading to further company expansion. Under his leadership, Lennox became a publicly traded company in 1999 and cemented its status as a globally diversified industry leader. 

Norris Jr. launched commercial HVAC and commercial refrigeration business divisions within Lennox. His focus on sustainability was ahead of its time, as Lennox introduced the first high-efficiency condensing heating products.

Norris Jr. certainly gave back to the industry. He served as a director on several boards, including AmerUs Group Co., the Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Institute (ARI), and The Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association (GAMA); he served as board chairman for the latter two organizations. He was honored by the ARI with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. After he left the industry, ARI and GAMA merged to form AHRI.

In an article in The ACHR NEWS when he retired, Norris Jr. said, “It is so important that executives in the upper-most reaches of every company become involved in the leadership of our industry. The best way to accomplish goals for the common good is by working together and applying the very best minds we have to offer. That is why the presidents and CEOs should make the time to participate with NATE, ARI, and GAMA, and all associations that work toward the betterment of the industry.”

Norris Jr. officially retired from Lennox in 2006.

One of the accomplishments Norris Jr. might be most remembered for is creating the Dave Lennox character, whose likeness graces the box of every Lennox unit packaged to this day.

In that same ACHR NEWS article, Norris Jr. commented on the beginnings of the popular advertising icon and the Attaboy Dave campaign.

“One of our early ad campaigns used an actor (Bill Tracy) to portray Dave Lennox in a turn-of-the-century scenario. Along the bottom we had added a small tagline that read ‘Attaboy Dave.’ The whole thing sort of snowballed from there and the dealers absolutely loved it. It certainly helped that the first ‘Dave Lennox,’ Bill Tracy, was a very charismatic fellow. We found people wanted to identify and connect with a real person — Dave Lennox,” said Norris. “He personifies many of the core values that makes Lennox what it is today.

“Part of the reason that the icon has been so successful is that there actually was a Dave Lennox, and the two people who have portrayed him have both been fantastic individuals.”

Over his storied 46-year career, Norris Jr. grew Lennox from a family business in Iowa to an international industry leader.

Norris Jr. was a passionate philanthropist who loved the environment and was a past chairman of The Nature Conservancy of Texas board of trustees. He enjoyed spending time in nature, fishing, and ornithology.

John W. Norris Jr. is survived by his wife, Terry; children Bo (Cathy Houlihan), Julie (Brian Kopper), and Jeff (Laura Newman); and five grandchildren, Ben (Lauren O’Sullivan), Will, Lily Kneeland (Gage), Jondall, and Charlie. He is also survived by a brother, Bob Norris, and a sister, Megan Norris, and many nieces and nephews.

Arrangements are being made for memorial services in the future.