Norma Williams

Norma Thurston Williams

June 19, 1929-April 23, 2019

Norma was born in Kansas to Oliver and Margie Thurston in June.  She attended Marymount College in Salina, Kansas where she met her love, Raymond at a GI dance in 1947.  They married on April 16, 1951, and started their life together in Paris, France, while he served his country in the Air Force.  After his discharge they lived in Nevada and California, before settling in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Following retirement they moved again to be closer to family.  Norma has been a resident of Henderson for 14 years.

Norma was devout in faith, a leader in her community, and respected in her field.  She was always concerned for the underdog and those in need, volunteering at the suicide hotline for many years, counseling those in need, and ministering to the elderly, work she continued after retirement.  She returned to school and received her Master’s degree in Special Education at the age of 56 in order to help children who struggled with learning.  She believed in letting go of the material things and focusing on what each of us can give to others.  She was a true model of patience, love, and giving.

Norma is survived by Raymond, her husband of 68 years; her daughters Morningstar Borzoni (Aldo), Mary L. Maniery (James Gary), and Laura Bush (Gary); grandchildren Jonathan and Andrea “Ellie” Maniery, Joshua, Sampson (Kim), and Alexandria Bush, and great grandson, Westley Bush.  She is also survived by her brothers Ronald (Chris) and Marland (Patty) Thurston, and sister Carol Baltz (John), as well as numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Oliver and Margie Thurston, her brother, Oliver, and her sister, Maxine Ratterman.

A rosary will be said at Boulder City Family Mortuary on Sunday, April 28, at 7:30 pm with a visitation starting at 7 pm.  A service will be held at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery Chapel, 1900 Veterans Memorial Drive, Boulder City, Nevada on April 29, 2019, at 8:00 am, with burial to follow.  Family and friends can sign an online memorial guestbook at www.bouldercityfamilymortuary.com