Norma C Mitchell

On April 8, 2014, while surrounded by her daughters and family, Norma C Mitchell earned her angel wings and joined her husband, John Howard Mitchell and daughter, Wanda (Poke) Meyer. Norma C was born in Maypearl, Texas in 1922 to Roy Dolphus and Gracie Busby. She spent her early years in Ellis County, Texas and graduated from Waxahachie High School. She and John moved to East Texas after World War II and lived there until 1958, when they were transferred to Beaumont.
Known as “Buzz” by her friends, Norma C’s pride and joy were her five daughters. She was a talented cook and an expert seamstress who seemed to squeeze more than 24 hours out of each day. She made all the girls’ clothes, set their hair in pin curls on Saturday nights, and shuttled them to after-school activities. Norma C enrolled at Lamar Tech when her youngest daughter was five years old and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Elementary Education at age 41. She also earned M.Ed. and Specialist degrees in Education at Lamar and taught at G. M. Sims Elementary in Port Arthur, and Bingman, Giles, and Fehl Elementary Schools in Beaumont.
As a young widow, Norma C was instrumental in founding the single adults clubs in Beaumont and Port Arthur, which are now the Jefferson County Single Adults Club, and she served on their boards of directors for many years. Norma C prided herself on having traveled to every continent except Antarctica. Following her retirement, she volunteered at Christus Hospital, St. Elizabeth and Baptist Hospital; traveled with the Pirate Sams; and was a member of the Red Hat Club.
Norma C is survived by daughters Kaleta Lynn Smith and her husband, Jay, of Cary, North Carolina; Derelys Presley, and husband Charles of Huffman, Texas; Mary Nelson and husband Bob of Colleyville, Texas; and Ducy Mitchell of Beaumont; eight grandchildren, twelve great grandchildren; her sister Jerry Mitchell of Waco and her brother, David Busby of Waxahachie. Norma delighted in celebrating her 90th birthday with all her family present in 2012.
A celebration of Norma C’s life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 11, 2014, at Claybar Kelly Watkins Funeral Home, with burial to follow at Forest Lawn Cemetery. The family will welcome visitors before the service from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Memorials may be made to the Humane Society of Southeast Texas or to a charity of your choice.