Norma J. Williams

Norma Jean Williams, born December 18, 1938, to Clifford and Maggie Tippit, was welcomed into the gates of heaven on June 5, 2022. Norma was born in Purcell, OK. She attended grade school in her hometown then St. Joseph High School in Norman, OK, where she was salutatorian for the Class of 1957. She met the love of her life, Al, during grade school, and her dream was to marry him and become a mother. Norma also loved and cherished her four sisters and three brothers. Growing up in their loving childhood home would be the example Norma used to start her own family legacy.

Al and Norma married at their home church in Purcell in 1958 and would have celebrated 64 years of marriage next month. Norma was incredibly proud of their children, Jim (Sandy) Williams, Debbie Chapman, Bryan (Lourdes), Mike (Kim), Greg (Kay) and Cynthia (Aldon). Her 24 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren were truly the light of her life. To describe her as the matriarch of the Williams family is an immense understatement. Al and Norma’s immediate family numbers 66, and every one of them felt special around her. She has prayed over those she holds dear and was a true example of living a Godly life with a focus on eternity with the Lord. While her death is leaving a hole in the hearts of her family and friends, Norma was more than ready to walk the streets of gold that she had lived her entire life to see.

Norma was a Girl Scout troop leader, a Boy Scout den mother, a cake decorator, a babysitter, a school and athletic secretary, a business owner and member of the Lourdes Altar Society. But above all, she was a shining example of leaving this world better than she found it. Many children and now grown adults have memories of the impression Norma made on them. The number of people who share that Norma “treated them like her own” is too numerous to count. She loved with all her heart and wanted everyone to feel welcomed and acknowledged.

Her viewing with family present will take place on Friday, June 10 from 4 pm to 6 pm, at Smith Mortuary in Derby. The recitation of the rosary will begin at 7:00 pm at St. Mary’s Church in Derby. Norma’s funeral will be at St. Mary’s on Saturday, June 11 at 10 am and she will be buried at Hillcrest Cemetery. Memorials can be made to Lord’s Diner The Lord's Diner , the Guadalupe Clinic The Guadalupe Clinic or the St. Mary’s Building Fund St. Mary's