Remembering Norman Michael Fine
September 23, 1934 – August 16, 2025
Written by Kaitlin Hill | Photo by Douglas Lees
Norman Michael Fine passed away peacefully in his home at the age of 90.
Known to many as “Norm,” Fine graduated from Dartmouth College in 1955 and Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering in 1956.
In 1962, Fine established Beta Instrument Corporation, which would design and build high-resolution radar screens and infrared scopes for the U.S. armed forces during the Cold War. His company’s technology would aid in NASA’s Apollo-11 mission by supplying display scopes instrumental in broadcasting Neil Armstrong’s moon landing. Beta Instrument Corporation technology also contributed to the first ultrasound images of the human eye, MGM Studios’ first color-correction equipment, and the first programmable computer-to-microfilm systems.
In 1988, Fine and his wife, Joan, moved from Concord, Massachusetts, to Clarke County, Virginia, where he would explore interests like writing and foxhunting. He established Covertside, the country’s first foxhunting magazine, and Foxhunting Life, a website for foxhunters. He rode in the U.S., Canada, England, and Ireland, documenting his experiences and interviewing huntsmen for several books and countless articles.
Locally, he was a member of the Blue Ridge Hunt and is remembered by Anne McIntosh as “a most special member of the Blue Ridge Hunt. His membership spanned over 40 years, four huntsmen, seven masters, and hundreds of hounds — he witnessed plenty and he wrote about most all of it… His knowledge of the sport was amazing. I always loved seeing him at our meets. His smile when he saw the hounds come out of the trailer was fantastic and energizing — it reminded you why you had come out that day.”
“We at the Masters of Foxhounds Association greatly mourn the passing of Norman Fine, a foxhunter with an adept and memorable way with words,” shares Penny Denegre, president of the association. “Lucky for us and our sport, after a successful career in electronics engineering, Norman took the advice he had heard years before from his freshman year English professor and became a writer. … He gave voice to our beloved sport, helping us in our mission to promote, preserve, and protect foxhunting. Norman, we are most grateful.”
Longtime friend David Greve concludes, “He was known by many for so many things. He was a good man, but most of all he was kind. He lived a wonderful life, in a beautiful place, with the perfect partner.”
Fine is survived by his wife, Joan, his daughters Lisa and Robin Fine, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to either the Blue Ridge Hospice, 333 W. Cork Street, Unit 405, Winchester, VA 22601, or the Blue Ridge Hunt, P.O. Box 96, Boyce, VA 22620. ML
Published in the September 2025 issue of Middleburg Life.