Obituary for Norma Marie Waters (Pelletier)
On April 1, 2020, a sunny Spring morning filled with birds singing and flowers blooming, our dear mother, Grammy, sister, aunt, and friend, Norma Marie Waters, left this world surrounded by those who loved her. She was a gracious, joyful, beautiful light and she left an indelible mark on anyone lucky enough to have known her.
The oldest of eight children, she was born on March 16, 1932, in Edmundston, Canada to the late Henry and Isabelle Pelletier. She grew up in Madawaska and later Caribou, Maine and she fondly shared childhood stories of her large French-Canadian family. After graduating from high school in 1950, at a time when most women stayed at home, she moved to Hartford Connecticut and worked at Pratt-Whitney. In 1954, she proudly joined the US Navy as a WAVE and moved to Arlington, Virginia. It is there that she met her late husband, Thomas Joseph Waters, an airman in the US Air Force and they married on January 31, 1956. Although she had to resign her commission in the Navy, Norma worked for 33 years as a Civil Servant for the Air Force ultimately receiving the national award of Top Headquarters Civilian in 1987. The Air Force and later retirement took Tom, Norma and their girls to Wiesbaden, Arlington, Madrid, Caribou and ultimately to Roanoke, Virginia.
Norma’s greatest loves were her family and her church. She gave wholeheartedly and selflessly to her four daughters, their spouses, and her six grandchildren. She cherished her siblings and their families and loved family reunions and visits. She was a member of St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Roanoke for 40 years, serving as a lay minister and as a member of the Catholic Daughters, the Catholic Historical Society, and the St. Andrew’s Cemetery Committee. Always willing to help others in need, she was a volunteer for Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for 25 years.
In addition to her parents and husband, Norma is predeceased by her brother June. Left to cherish her life are her daughters, Pat Young and ex-husband David, Barbie Waters-Pick, Mary Caldwell and husband, Brent, and Kathy Shelton and husband Jeffrey; her grandchildren, Robert Pick, Adam Caldwell, Matthew and Meredith Young, and Emily and Jordan Shelton; her siblings, Gil (Marilyn), Doris, Roger, Cecile (Bob), Lou Ann, and Jerry (Kathy); and numerous nieces and nephews. Special love and thanks to her caregiver and surrogate daughter, Nancy Flowers; her son from another mother, Lewis Clark; caregivers Mary Margaret Via and Michelle Ouellette, and Jamie Boardwine and the staff at Good Samaritan Hospice. We will forever miss our beautiful Flower. TUFF.
Please consider a donation to St. Andrew’s Catholic Church Capital Campaign, 631 N. Jefferson St., Roanoke, VA, 24016; United Way of Roanoke Valley, 325 Campbell Ave. SW, Roanoke, VA, 24016; or to Good Samaritan Hospice, http://goodsamhospice.com/
The interment will be held privately with the family at St. Andrew’s Diocesan Cemetery in Roanoke, VA. A memorial mass to celebrate her life will be held at a later date.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.johnmoakey.com.
The oldest of eight children, she was born on March 16, 1932, in Edmundston, Canada to the late Henry and Isabelle Pelletier. She grew up in Madawaska and later Caribou, Maine and she fondly shared childhood stories of her large French-Canadian family. After graduating from high school in 1950, at a time when most women stayed at home, she moved to Hartford Connecticut and worked at Pratt-Whitney. In 1954, she proudly joined the US Navy as a WAVE and moved to Arlington, Virginia. It is there that she met her late husband, Thomas Joseph Waters, an airman in the US Air Force and they married on January 31, 1956. Although she had to resign her commission in the Navy, Norma worked for 33 years as a Civil Servant for the Air Force ultimately receiving the national award of Top Headquarters Civilian in 1987. The Air Force and later retirement took Tom, Norma and their girls to Wiesbaden, Arlington, Madrid, Caribou and ultimately to Roanoke, Virginia.
Norma’s greatest loves were her family and her church. She gave wholeheartedly and selflessly to her four daughters, their spouses, and her six grandchildren. She cherished her siblings and their families and loved family reunions and visits. She was a member of St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Roanoke for 40 years, serving as a lay minister and as a member of the Catholic Daughters, the Catholic Historical Society, and the St. Andrew’s Cemetery Committee. Always willing to help others in need, she was a volunteer for Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for 25 years.
In addition to her parents and husband, Norma is predeceased by her brother June. Left to cherish her life are her daughters, Pat Young and ex-husband David, Barbie Waters-Pick, Mary Caldwell and husband, Brent, and Kathy Shelton and husband Jeffrey; her grandchildren, Robert Pick, Adam Caldwell, Matthew and Meredith Young, and Emily and Jordan Shelton; her siblings, Gil (Marilyn), Doris, Roger, Cecile (Bob), Lou Ann, and Jerry (Kathy); and numerous nieces and nephews. Special love and thanks to her caregiver and surrogate daughter, Nancy Flowers; her son from another mother, Lewis Clark; caregivers Mary Margaret Via and Michelle Ouellette, and Jamie Boardwine and the staff at Good Samaritan Hospice. We will forever miss our beautiful Flower. TUFF.
Please consider a donation to St. Andrew’s Catholic Church Capital Campaign, 631 N. Jefferson St., Roanoke, VA, 24016; United Way of Roanoke Valley, 325 Campbell Ave. SW, Roanoke, VA, 24016; or to Good Samaritan Hospice, http://goodsamhospice.com/
The interment will be held privately with the family at St. Andrew’s Diocesan Cemetery in Roanoke, VA. A memorial mass to celebrate her life will be held at a later date.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.johnmoakey.com.