Iowan who helped build worldwide furnace business Lennox International has died

John W. Norris Jr., who helped build his family’s Iowa furnace business into one of the most successful and recognizable companies in the world, died Jan. 21 in Maine. He was 87.

Norris spent his life working for what would become Lennox International, which is now based in Richardson, Texas.

The company started with humble beginnings in Marshalltown when his grandfather, D.W. Norris, editor and publisher of the local newspaper, purchased the company from David Lennox in 1904 for a reported $57,000. Today, the company is valued at over $16 billion, according to Stock Analysis.

It was Norris, then president of the company, who made the decision to move the headquarters of Lennox from Marshalltown to the Dallas suburb of Richardson in 1978.

In a 1991 interview with Texas Monthly, Norris joked about the Texas weather, showing off his Iowa-grown sense of humor. “They tell you the average temperature is fifty-six degrees, but they don’t tell you it’s plus or minus fifty degrees,” Norris said at the time.

The current Lennox facility in Marshalltown, with 757 employees, is still considered the flagship location for the company and the facility has recently been upgraded following the 2018 tornado. Worldwide, Lennox employs more than 13,000 workers.

Although Norris made the decision to move the headquarters to Texas to attract the professional expertise Lennox needed, his son Bo Norris said his father never forgot where he came from and always called Iowa home.

“Lennox employees throughout the company still talk about its Midwest values of integrity, respect and excellence so being from Iowa was of great significance to my father. Throughout his business career Dad never wavered from these values,” Bo Norris wrote in an email to the Register.

Bo Norris, who sits on the Lennox board of directors, said a key to his father’s success was building strong teamwork.

“I don't believe he ever read any of the hundreds of management books about how to actually be a team player or a servant leader. But Dad had an innate sensibility that by surrounding himself with people who brought diverse perspectives and ideas, supporting them in meeting their goals, encouraging camaraderie and letting them make and own decisions you would get better outcomes,” Bo Norris wrote.

In a prepared statement, current Lennox CEO Alok Maskara said the positive culture built by John Norris Jr. continues to contribute to the success of Lennox.

Maskara specifically pointed out Norris’ achievements of piloting Lennox through its first public stock offering in 1998 and creating the commercial HVAC and refrigeration segments of the company.

“We would not be the Lennox we are today without the leadership of John Norris Jr.,” Maskara wrote.

Bo Norris said his father was “a friendly and humble guy who eschewed the trappings that can come with being CEO of a large company."

“As the company prospered and his personal wealth grew he remained grounded and modest. During his career he engendered great loyalty among people throughout Lennox and to this day there are still employees throughout Lennox who remember how my father greeted them personally and took interest in their lives,” Bo Norris wrote.

In addition to overseeing innovation and growth of the family’s company, it was Norris that came up with the iconic, bib-overall-clad “attaboy, Dave” marketing character used in advertising for more than 40 years. The image of “Dave Lennox” still appears on the carton of every Lennox product.

In an interview with a trade publication when he retired in 2006, Norris said he envisioned working at the family company when he was younger but not running it.

"I never felt as though I was forced to work in the family business. Being around my father just ingrained a sense of belonging to Lennox," he said.

Norris was born in Marshalltown, Iowa, on Feb. 10, 1936. He went to Grinnell College for two years and then graduated from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After graduating from MIT, Norris joined Lennox and worked his way up through various roles in nearly every department, eventually becoming CEO and board chair.

Norris is survived by his wife Terry, three children and five grandchildren. Arrangements are being made for memorial services in the future.

Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at kbaskins@registermedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowan who helped build worldwide furnace business Lennox has died