My Mother's Memories of Her Mother

 

L-R Carole Norris, Jacqueline Norris, Mary Barbara Jean Norris

 

When Momma J acquie (my mother's mother) died, my mother and her sister asked if each of us grandchildren would speak at her memorial service.  There were some memories that came before us, or were seen from the different perspective of my mother though and are too precious to be forgotten.  Here is what my mother, Mary Barbara Jean Norris Stairs wrote:

 

"In 1940 Jacqueline Thompson married Floyd Norris and they moved to California to help Floyd's father who was building orange crates for pennies each.  In January of 1941, she had their first daughter, Mary Barbara Jean, named after all her sisters and sister-in-law, and 11 months later her second daughter Carole, named after her favorite movie star - Carole Lombard.  Seven years later in 1949 the third daughter, Diana, was premature and died after five days.  Mother always kept our hair in ringlets when we were young and had our grandmother sew beautiful clothes for us.  My mother is remembered for her hair always in place, beautiful jewelry, although just costume, and fine clothes, a lot of which were purchased at garage sales and flea markets.

 

Mother was always a hard worker.  During World War II, she worked at Delco Remy, lifting armatures which weighed about 15-20 pounds, from conveyor to conveyor.  She became quite strong and would be the entertainment at parties by arm wrestling the men.  That strength was still apparent up to her last days.  She would hold onto nurses' gloves and not let go.  They would have to slip their hands out of the gloves and leave them with her.

 

She was also very athletic and was on the high school's basketball team.  When we were growing up, Mother and Daddy would play basketball, volleyball, softball, table tennis, jacks and other sports with us.  They both had many trophies for their bowling skills.

 

Another good quality was she was careful with money and always would put back a little into a savings account.  Our first trip from Indiana to Florida was hosted by James Cope, President of Florida Christian College (the name was later changed to Florida College) where we stayed in a dorm room in order to keep down costs.  We all loved Florida and moved here shortly after that trip.  The trip and the move were done with Mother's savings.  She was generous with her finances in sending us to college and later helping other college students in the Florida College Adopt-A-Student program.

 

Mother used to tell us about the time she and her mother, Goldie, were in a boat crossing a deep creek.  They had baby chicks with them that they were taking to sell to get money for groceries.  They lived in the Arkansas countryside and were very poor.  The boat tipped over and everyone fell out.  Mother did not know how to swim but Goldie was concerned about the baby chicks and was gathering them up so they didn't drown, totally ignoring Mother, who learned to "dog paddle" that day, but she was always afraid of water from then on.  Her fear of water did not stop her many years later when her three small grandsons, Alan, Stacy and Mike Crim, stepped into a hole in Lake Keystone where Mother and Daddy lived.  She would sink to the bottom of the hole and push up with all her might and push the three young boys closer and closer to the shore, taking a breath of air, and then going back down into the dreaded water until all three were safe.  My sister said that was the scariest time of her life while she watched from the shore.

 

Mother assisted her sister, Barbara Huff, and her daughters in buying homes and cars; wanting us to have good running, safe vehicles.  A Cadillac once saved her life so she knew how important the right car can be.  In the 1980's she was stopped at the stop light at Waters and North Dale Mabry when a tractor trailer rig driver, who claimed his brakes failed, plowed into the rear of her large Cadillac.  The Highway Patrol sa