Norma Emma (Jackson) Higbee
July 19, 1924 – June 9, 2022
On July 19, 1924 the
Lord blessed Albert &
Esther (Bloomquist) Jack-
son of Oak Park, Chicago,
Ill with a gorgeous blue
eye girl, which they
named “Norma Emma”.
She was the 1st of 3
precious little girls.
Norma was 8 years old
when they packed up &
moved to Palisade, Minn.
Norma attended a coun-
try grade school, about a
mile from her home in
Palisade.
As a child Norma
played with her doll,
“Nancy Paine”. Norma en-
joyed reading, softball,
volleyball, camping, hik-
ing in the woods & any
snow activities.
One of Norma’s enjoy-
able memories as a child
was when they had their
Christmas Programs, fami-
lies would meet at their
house and they all would
go by sled pulled by 2 big
horses.
A straight stick was the
1st vehicle she learned
how to drive, which was
taught to her by her dad.
As a young lady, Norma
was a seamstress, not as
good as her sister, but she
still enjoyed sewing.
At the age of 15 Norma
graduated with a class of
157 kids in 1941 from Ait-
kin High School, Aitkin,
Minn.
Many of her classmates
went to fight in WWII &
did not make it back.
She would say over the
years, it was hard to go to
school reunions because
of so many missing faces.
Norma met Donald after
graduation & they married
July 30th, 1942 in Pal-
isade, Minn.
Norma went on to ma-
jor in Business Class at
the Young & Hursh Col-
lege in Duluth, Minn.
She learned bookkeep-
ing, shorthand, typing, &
how to run Business
Machines.
They moved to Seattle,
Wash. where Donald
joined the Air Force & the
Air Force Band, & Norma
was a house wife.
Norma & Donald had
lived in Big Spring, TX.
Norma had a secretarial
job at the Bomber School,
where they trained pilots
to drop bombs during
World War II. This was
where Norma & Donald
had their 1st son, Ken-
neth.
They had their 2nd
child Bradley in Hopkins,
Minn. Their only little
girl, Jacquelyn, was born in
Auburn, Wash.
They also lived in
Cheyenne, Wyo. where
Norma worked at the VA
hospital as a secretary &
did voluntary work.
Norma may have lived
in many places but she
never traveled by plane,
only by train, Greyhound
bus or car and the only
trip out of the states was
to Canada.
Don & Norma divorced
in 1977, that’s when she
learned that life is like a
book, sometimes we must
close a chapter and start
the next one.
Norma felt that a
person’s greatest need is
to feel appreciated.
After the divorce she
moved to Sedro-Woolley,
Wash. where she was the
caregiver to Donald’s
parents, By & Beatrice
Higbee.
Norma had lived in
Haugan, Montana where
she a worked at the
10,000 Silver Dollar Gift
Shop for 10 years. While
working there Norma met
Dirty Sally from the
“Wagon Master” Show,
The Judd’s, Evil Knievel,
and the Charle Daniel’s
Band. In the 80’s she met
the Jackson 5 & they invit-
ed her to come onto their
bus. She even had a night
of a few drinks, visit &
danced with Willy Nel-
son, he even asked her to
go with him to Alaska, but
she turned him down.
Montana was her favorite
place to live, she enjoyed
the country, mountains, &
people. She would say, all
those places are just
memories now.
1988 Norma moved to
Colorado Springs, Colora-
do to be a caregiver to her
mother Esther. After her
mother’s passing she con-
tinued to stay in Colorado
Springs until she had a
stroke in January 2012.
She didn’t have a problem
with getting older but her
body was having issues
with it. She moved to
Knox, ND to live with Ken
& Jolene, then in April
2012 she moved into her
new home at the Haaland
Home in Rugby, ND.
Norma learned to gather
all the crumbs that life
had thrown her way &
they soon formed a lovely,
sweet slice of treasured
memories & she learned
that an old woman can get
away with anything. Nor-
ma moved to HAMC Long
Term April 1st 2019 &
that is where she realized
that everyone should
write a book about them-
selves, where they came
from & what they did with
their life. Many believed
that Norma kept good
health, was fearless & nev-
er encountered the virus
because she wore Red
lipstick everyday.
Norma wore many hats,
as a wife, mother, grand-
mother, great grandma,
caregiver & a friend to so
many. She learned that a
fulfilled life is not possi-
ble with out family &
friends.
Family was very impor-
tant to her, she enjoyed
her visits with them &
knew what they were in-
volved in & their accom-
plishments. One of her
favorite things to do was
go out for a ride with Brad
& hear stories of his Dako-
ta Riders friends & look-
ing at the wind towers
with a lunch stop at the
Rockin’ Relics.
She enjoyed visiting &
sharing her stories & al-
ways had a kind word for
everyone, even a stranger.
She learned the best ad-
vice you can give anyone
is “Be Kind” regardless of
how little you have, you
can always give comfort &
encouragement, because
everybody has a story.
She kept up on the
worldly news & oh did
she have her own strong
opinion on it too!
She also enjoyed sports
as her favorite team was
the Denver Broncos.
On June 9, 2022 the
Lord picked Norma up in
his arms & carried her
home.
Norma left this world
just as she lived her life,
quietly, gently, a classy
lady with the love and
support of her family.
Norma was known as the
“Lady with the Red Lips”
and for her famous words
“Bless your heart.”
Preceded by: Parents:
Albert Jackson-1977, age
82, Esther (Bloomquist)
Jackson-2-17-1999, 1 month short of her 100 birthday. Sisters: Anita
Ruddell-2009, Marian
Emerson-2018, Jacquelyn
1-28-2001, Bradley Hig-
bee-10-23-2019, Donald
Higbee-11-6-1998. Norma also learned that being a
good mother is the best
occupation you can ever
have. Son: Ken (Jolene)
Higbee, Knox, ND. Norma learned that all grandchil-
dren are beautiful, brilli-
ant & take after their
grand parents & being a
grandparent is God’s com-
pensation for growing old.
Grand kids: RaeAnn (Ja-
son) Bowes, Cole, Logan &
Jaxon, Shanna (Rob)
Stengl, Seth & Reed, Lana
Smith (Rob Raleigh) Steele
& Addi, Carrie (Derek)
Hawley Adella & Lincoln,
Heather & Bradley Jr. Hig-
bee, Justin (Kristi)Tofte
Levi, Rylan & Jozie, Jen-
nifer Tofte (Jace Eagleson)
Archer.
A memorial service will
be held at the Niewoehner
Funeral Home – Rugby on
July 23, 2022 at 10:30
A.M.