Everett’s E.A. Nord Co., which grew to become the world’s largest maker of paneled wood doors, as it looked in 1929 at 2202 Hewitt Ave. Bob Nord, longtime chairman and president of the company, died May 3. His father, Eric A. Nord, founded the company in 1924. It later moved to 300 W. Marine View Drive. (Everett Public Library photo, J.A. Juleen Collection)

Everett’s E.A. Nord Co., which grew to become the world’s largest maker of paneled wood doors, as it looked in 1929 at 2202 Hewitt Ave. Bob Nord, longtime chairman and president of the company, died May 3. His father, Eric A. Nord, founded the company in 1924. It later moved to 300 W. Marine View Drive. (Everett Public Library photo, J.A. Juleen Collection)

Robert Nord, longtime CEO of Everett door company, dies

Robert Nord was the scion of a family whose business was once among Everett’s biggest employers. By the 1960s, the E.A. Nord Co. was the world’s largest maker of wood panel doors.

Nord, who headed the company his father, Eric Adolf Nord, founded, served his country and community. He loved travel, history and his family.

Robert William “Bob” Nord died May 3. Born Dec. 11, 1921, in Anacortes, he spent most of his life in Everett. A graduate of Everett High School and the University of Washington, Nord was a World War II veteran who served in Italy.

His father, who founded the E.A. Nord Co. in 1924, was a boy in 1903 when his parents emigrated from Sweden.

Robert Nord “was an amazing gentleman. He always reached out to people,” said Pam McClure, his daughter.

Nord is also survived by his son, Scott Nord, son-in-law Tony McClure, seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 47 years, Bette Nord, who died in 1997; daughter Patricia Arness; and older brother Russell Nord, who was killed in the Battle of Saipan in 1944.

Pam McClure, of Mukilteo, recalled when her father and grandfather worked together at the company that came to be known as Nord Door. By 1967, according to Herald archives, the Nord company had 800 employees. It was acquired in 1986 by Jeld-Wen Inc., which closed the door factory in 2005.

“He was working at the company when Grandpa passed away. Grandpa was CEO, Dad was general manager,” McClure said. Eric Nord died in 1976.

In its early days, Everett Public Library collections show, the E.A. Nord Co. was a storefront on downtown Everett’s Hewitt Avenue. In the 1920s, it sold paint, glass, doors and building supplies. By 1946, the company had far outgrown its original home. It eventually acquired 23 acres at West Marine View Drive on the northwest Everett waterfront.

In the mid-1960s, the facilities included five acres under one roof, with lumber-drying kilns and a factory that kept two shifts working. Nord’s stile-and-rail panel doors were made of western hemlock and Douglas fir.

“Businesses down there were influential,” McClure said. “The Nord company had relationships with George Weyerhaeuser and U.S. senators.”

The company’s last years in some ways reflected labor strife that marked the Everett waterfront’s early history.

According to Herald archives, Jeld-Wen Inc. bought Nord in 1986 for $15 million after a bitter strike lasting more than two years. The strike ousted Local 1054 of the Lumber Production and Industrial Workers union, according to a 1992 Herald article. During the strike, about 60 area locals joined in a 1983 march that was reported to be the largest labor demonstration in Everett in 70 years.

The 2005 closing of Jeld-Wen, which operated in Everett without a union, cost about 160 workers their jobs. The property, now owned by W&W Everett Investments, LLC, is a state Department of Ecology cleanup site. Another company, CEMEX, has leased part of the site to operate an asphalt batch plant.

McClure said her father retired when Jeld-Wen took over. His community involvement included serving on the Everett General Hospital Board from 1979 to 1988. He was a longtime member, deacon and elder at Everett’s First Presbyterian Church. He was active in the Republican Party.

Nord was an enthusiastic member and booster of the YMCA of Snohomish County. “He exercised at the Y every single day,” McClure said. “He swam until he was 91.” In a video he made for the Y, Bob Nord said his daily regime included an hour of swimming and a half-hour on a treadmill. “If you can fit it into your life, physical activity is the best thing you can do,” Nord said in the video.

McClure said her father also loved traveling. He had been to Sweden many times to see his ancestral homeland. He had been to dozens of countries, and especially liked Thailand. McClure treasures memories of vacations with her dad at Lake Chelan and in Hawaii. On one incredible trip, she and her husband flew with him from New York to Paris on a Concorde supersonic jet.

Her father wanted to experience the world, she said.

In a recent letter addressed to “Grandpa,” Mark McClure, one of Nord’s grandsons, shared happy memories of a Sweden trip, Christmases and fishing with Nord. “You were always concerned about others before yourself. Your love was unconditional,” he wrote.

“He was an example for our family,” Pam McClure said. “He is going to live on as a role model to us.”

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Alina Langbehn, 6, center, and Vera A., 6, right, sit on a swing together at Drew Nielsen Neighborhood Park after school on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett council votes to renovate Drew Nielsen Park

Construction on the $345,000 upgrade could start as early as this fall.

Northshore School District bus driver Stewart O’Leary pictured next to his buses shattered drivers side windshield on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Put me in, coach’: Bus driver back at work after struck by metal bar

Stewart O’Leary, a Northshore employee, has received national attention for his composure during a frightening bus trip.

Lynnwood councilor Joshua Binda speaks during a Lynnwood City Council meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Does the Lynnwood Council VP live in Lynnwood? It’s hard to say.

Josh Binda’s residency has been called into question following an eviction and FEC filings listing an Everett address. He insists he lives in Lynnwood.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

An American Robin picks a berry from a holly tree on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Calling all birders for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count

The Audubon Society will hold its 28th annual Great Backyard… Continue reading

A view of one of the potential locations of the new Aquasox stadium on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. The site sits between Hewitt Avenue, Broadway, Pacific Avenue and the railroad. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Initial prep work for AquaSox stadium to start, with $200k price tag

The temporary agreement allows some surveying and design work as the city negotiates contracts with designers and builders.

Aaron Kennedy / The Herald
The Joann Fabric and Crafts store at 7601 Evergreen Way, Everett, is one of three stores in Snohomish County that will close as part of the retailer’s larger plan to shutter more than half of its stores nationwide.
Joann store closure plan includes Everett, Arlington, Lynnwood locations

The retail giant filed a motion in court to close approximately 500 stores in the U.S.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.