Norman Rockwell

Rockwell was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia and raised in Baltimore. In 1949, he graduated from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. While working for a builder, he attended night school at The Johns Hopkins University, earning a BS in engineering in 1961. 

After graduating, he joined the Rouse Co. where he led commercial construction of malls, shopping centers, and other commercial projects along the East Coast. In 1964, he founded the Northern Chesapeake Builders Corp., a commercial construction business that he headed for forty-three years. Rockwell was involved in the construction of the planned community of Columbia, Maryland, the Rouse Co.’s project in Howard County.

In 1983, Rockwell’s wife Joanne died from cancer. As a tribute to her, he built the Joanne Rockwell Memorial House. It opened in 1985 and served as a residence for cancer patients undergoing treatment at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and their families.