Some say that when a cardinal appears after the loss of a loved one, it’s a sign of their continued presence, offering comfort and love from beyond. Norton Latourelle knows this well. For years, the Vermont-based folk artist carved wooden cardinals, and they sold well. People saw them as a way to connect with loved ones and often purchased several at a time from Norton's Gallery of Woodcarvings, Norton's namesake gallery in Shoreham, Vt.  

Housed in a big red barn, the gallery was part of the home Norton and his wife, Marlene, built in the '90s on 40 acres of land near Lake Champlain–"best views of the lake in the whole state,” he says. While Norton created the signature wood carvings for which he was known, Marlene looked after the space and ran the business. “She designed the website, took all the photos, handled the accounting, and communicated with everyone while tending the gardens and making the place look good for visitors,” he says. “Marlene put it all together so that all I had to do was create art.”  

A Devastating Diagnosis

In early 2024, Marlene was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer for which there is no cure. Facing a long road of arduous treatments, they closed the gallery and made frequent trips to the UVM Cancer Center in Burlington, where Marlene was treated by a care team led by Alissa Thomas, M.D.  

After a courageous battle, Marlene passed away on March 12, 2025. For the first time in 35 years, Norton found himself on his own. The days that followed were unfamiliar and heavy; grief had upended the rhythms of a life once shared. He stopped creating art. “I was going through a terrible time, and I thought, what can I possibly do?” he says. “And then I remembered: for years, we’d made thousands of cardinals to honor people's loved ones. It just seemed a natural extension of what I already knew.”  

So Norton started carving again. He carved cardinals on nights when he couldn’t sleep. He carved them during the day to keep focused. “Making cardinals gave me a process for thinking about Marlene, and it kept me sane,” Norton says. He developed a plan: sell the cardinals and donate the proceeds to cancer patients and their families and caregivers, as well as to cancer research and clinical trials. The more cardinals Norton carved, the more money he could give to people whose suffering he understood.  

'Marlene's Cardinals' is Born

After a while, people started coming around and asking Norton if they could help with the cardinals. Although he'd had always felt the support of his community after Marlene’s passing, the cardinal project gave people a specific way to help. This was good for Norton, too. “One of the things that's hard about people volunteering to help you is accepting it,” he says. “But you’ve got to learn to accept it.”  

Soon enough, Norton had a team of about 10 people who were helping him paint cardinals. There was a local fireman, and two close friends from down the road, and his sister-in-law and her daughter. There was the mailman who showed up every lunchtime to grab a load of cardinals that he sanded at night and painted on Saturdays. Norton wants to teach the mailman how to use the bandsaw so that he, too, can carve. “He retires in three years, and we like to joke that he’s going to be the director of the group," Norton says.  

Norton calls the project Marlene’s Cardinals, and he’s giving it all he’s got. "I want to create an impact,” he says. "A lot of people don't survive financially after fighting cancer, so this can help.” A local sawmill has committed to donating all the wood he'll need for the project. The cardinals sell for $100 each, and every penny goes to the UVM Cancer Center to support glioblastoma patients and their families and caregivers, and the research and clinical trials needed to fight this disease. 

The money is important, but so, too, is the comfort Norton hopes each cardinal will bring to people who have lost a loved one. He thinks Marlene would approve. “I know she thought I couldn't survive without her—that was her biggest worry,” he says. “I think she’d be proud.”  

Norton’s mission is to raise more than $100,000. At the time of publication, he’s raised nearly $25,000. To make a donation and receive one of Marlene’s cardinals, visit the donation page.