Davis Eugene "Gene" Norman

Davis Eugene Norman (Gene), died in the care of his family on Wednesday, September 21st at the age of 94. He was born February 16th, 1928, in Bethpage, Tennessee, where his small-town childhood provided him with a wealth of stories that last his life and beyond. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mildred Roberts Norman, the love of his life; his parents were William H. and Onie Arterburn Norman; brothers, William Harold Norman, Billy Leighton Norman; sisters, Louise Holtz, Onie Elizabeth Womble, and Corrinne Climer. He is survived by his children, Robert Norman (Margaret), Mil Norman-Risch (Don), and Anne Van Gelder (David); grandchildren, Wesley Van Gelder, Melanie Risch, Christopher Risch, and several adoring and adored nieces and nephews. Mr. Norman was a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He first entered military service at the age of 16 in the Tennessee State Guard during WWII. Proudly serving for 34 years in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves, he rose to the rank of Colonel before retirement. Employed by Aetna Life and Casualty, Mr. Norman worked in the Claim Department in Nashville, then served as Regional Claim Supervisor in the Bristol and Roanoke offices. At the time of his retirement, he was Claim Superintendent in Richmond. Besides these leadership and management positions, he performed in a number of service roles. He was a member of the Military Officers Association of America, the Reserve Officers Association, of which he was past president of the Richmond chapter, and he participated in other veterans associations. While in Roanoke, he served on the ROTC Advisory Board of Ferrum College. An active churchgoer, he was a longtime member of First Presbyterian Church in Roanoke, serving for a time as Chairman of the Board of Deacons. More recently, he was a member of Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church of Midlothian, Virginia, and, most recently, a devoted viewer of Reverend Jim Somerville’s First Baptist televised Sunday services. Only a forward-thinking and organized person might write their own obituary and leave it on the desk for years, ready to go. He was such a man. (Witness the above, with only minor insertions). Tolerant, curious, open, forgiving, he looked beyond himself and knew to imagine how the world might seem to others. He was simply a good person who believed in another’s best intentions. Anyone he interacted with, however briefly, seemed worth knowing: “you’re a great person,” he used to say – with equal respect to restaurant servers, busboys, car wash attendants, dialysis technicians, nurses, orderlies, muffler mechanics, nephrologists, from his regular exchange with the “bread man” at Kroger to his momentary handshake with Mikael Gorbachav. A portrait of him could not be complete without mentioning how even in his final days, he couldn’t go five minutes without launching into one of his stories about Ancestor Duke the Traveling Barber or decrying the faults of a certain former president. Gene Norman, “Uncle Bubba,” “Daddy,” “Pop” always wore bright socks, great caps, and crisp new outfits with vests or jackets. He loved his cars and bestowed his kids and grandkids with years of oil changes, gas money, and car washes. His memory of factual details was legendary. He had not the slightest interest in sports, movies, coffee, alcohol, tv shows, one-upmanship, gossip, or best-selling consumer products. He was a guy who – up until his last months– displayed outdoor seasonal flags that he rotated according to dates on the calendar and who mowed his own lawn, then afterwards cleaned off the grass clods and sharpened the blade. A decades-long daily patron of Extra Billy’s Barbecue, he received the honor of having a grilled cheese sandwich menu item named after him. Duty and loyalty, fairness and consistency, stability and decorum, neighborliness, small-town-ness, and downright decency, these were his attributes. He loved vanilla ice cream and carrot cake. He respected ceremony. Though he was generally moderate and predictable in his habits, he dared as an octogenarian to do new things like sign into Facebook, perform online banking, master TurboTax, choose a ringtone, ride a motorcycle, eat yogurt, and go to a gym (!). He enjoyed giving more than receiving. He was the kind of husband who washed the dishes, the kind of father we still call “Daddy,” and the kind of grandfather who epitomized unconditional love. One of his hardest tasks in life, to care for his wife while she was bedridden, he handled with gentleness, love, courage, and amazing grace. May the hymn of that title resonate for him in the afterlife, reminding him of his own amazing grace. The family extends special thanks to the staff and owners at Extra Billy’s Barbecue, the staff at Davita, and the caring healthcare professionals – those who helped him keep up his quality of life and then those who helped usher him with quality onwards. The family welcomes visitation on Friday, October 14th, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Woody Funeral Home, Huguenot location. The funeral is on Saturday, October 15th at 1:00 pm at Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church, 1100 Mt. Pisgah Drive, Midlothian, Virginia, with the interment to follow at Hollywood Cemetery at 3:00 pm that day. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church or to a charity of choice.