Norma M. Gibbs

Our sweet mom and gramma, Norma Gibbs, 89, of Missoula, passed away on Wednesday, March 19, 2014, at Bee Hive Homes, of natural causes.

She was born July 7, 1924, in Cass Lake, Minn., to Martin and Teah Monson. When Norma finished high school she moved to join her brother, Milo, in Seattle, where she began working for the weather bureau. When World War II ended in 1945, she transferred to Missoula and could not escape the eye of Ray Gibbs. Ray and Norma were married in February 1946. This union lasted 63 years until Ray's death in 2009.

She was a member of the following organizations for more than 50 years: Eastern Star of the Electa Chapter No. 7, Daughter of the Nile, and the Sons of Norway Normandy 424. She also attended St. Paul Lutheran Church for more than 60 years and belonged to the church quilter group for more than 42 years.

Norma was voted Mother of the Year for her years of cooking for the Masonic Lodge and donating all the proceeds to the Shriners Children's Hospital.

This is what we remember most about our mom and grandma! She was a selfless volunteer and a giver. She was our hero, our strength and our prayer warrior. She loved on us when we needed it most. As our dad's work took him away from home much of the time, mom became our pillar. And boy could she run a household! She took so much pride in raising her three kids. Dressed so tidy and clean, never missing a Sunday at church and our number one cheerleader in all our sporting or horse events, along with feeding neighbor kids and any strays kids Marty brought home. Norma never let any grass grow under her feet, mowing and fretting about her clean house and cooking and baking for whoever needed a dish or a plate of "Numbies." She was so proud of her children and their families and watching her grandkids grow.

Survivors include two sons, Dennis (Donna) Gibbs of Missoula and Marty (Shelly) Gibbs of Lewiston, Idaho, and a daughter Jalaine Wark of Missoula; seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ray, and she was the last of her siblings to survive.

We are so grateful for all the memories and are comforted to know that while mom's time on the earth is complete, she was looking to a new beginning in heaven.

Thank you to Bee Hive Homes for taking such wonderful care of our mom in her last years and the Cremation and Burial Society of the Rockies for their compassionate and personal assistance in all the arrangements.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be sent to the St. Paul Lutheran Church Building Fund, 202 Brooks St., Missoula, MT 59801.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, March 24, at St. Paul Lutheran Church.
Read Norma Gibbs's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.