Norine H. Clark

Norine (Owens) Henson Clark died on January 6, 2015, at the age of 92. Norine's first husband, Ray Henson, died of a heart attack at the young age of 48. Russell Clark, her second husband, also preceded her in death. Norine's only son, Ronald Henson, died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 60. Norine outlined her parents, Sid and Dena Owens, and all her older siblings: Lois Tutor Owens, Harold Owens, Gussie (Pat) Weak Adams, twin brothers Lance and Lambert Owens, and Agnes (Peggy) Penland.

Her memorial service will be Sunday, January 11, 2015, at 3:00 p.m., (visitation at 2:00) in the chapel of A. S. Turner and Sons Funeral Home in Decatur, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Norine Clark's honor to the Gwinnett County Humane Society.

A Bit About Norine's Early Life
Norine was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, the youngest child of Sid and Dena Owens, of Darden, Tennessee. Although all of her siblings were born in Darden, Norine was born after the family moved to Mississippi, in search of better work opportunities in those difficult economic times. They rented a small farm and planted cotton, but unfortunately, their cotton crop failed the very first year due to the boll weevil. They then moved to Pontotoc, Mississippi, where Norine spent her early childhood, and later they moved to Jackson, Missouri, where she completed high school.

About 1941, when Norine was 18, the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where Sid found work as a salesman for Watkins Products. Norine's twin brothers (Lance and Lambert Owens) also lived in Memphis, where they owned their own Radio/TV/Appliance business. Later, Lance and Irma (with their son, Jerry) moved to California, but they stayed in touch and visited Norine in her later years.

After high school, Norine married Ray Henson, and they made their home in Memphis. Their only child, Ronald Henson, was born in 1945, and he became the joy of their lives. He was a loving and respectful son. He enjoyed fishing with his father, was academically bright in school, and was a good athlete, becoming the pitcher on his high school baseball team. After graduation from college, he worked for a while as a high school teacher. He married, but they had no children and they divorced just a few years later. At some point, Ron joined the Air Force, where he worked several years with computers and information technology.

While Ron was in college, Ray's work led the family to move to Lexington, Kentucky. Tragically, soon thereafter, Ray died suddenly of a heart attack at the young age of 48. Norine was only 43 when she suddenly became a widow. Although Norine had a high school education, she had never had a job. Norine's older sister (Peggy Penland, and husband Cecil) urged Norine to move to their home in Decatur, Georgia, temporarily, where she could be with loving family while she looked for a job.

Norine did come to stay with Peggy and Cecil. Happily, she soon found a job as a cashier/teller in the Decatur office of The Atlanta Gas Company. She moved into a comfortable apartment in downtown Decatur, and made some friends. With her hard work and friendly personality, she was soon promoted to a higher-level job at the downtown Atlanta office, where she thrived until her retirement at age 62. Ron also came to Decatur and stayed with her for a brief while during this time.

While living in Decatur, Norine started dating. She soon met and married Russ Clark, an attorney working in Atlanta. They purchased a home in Decatur, where they enjoyed their new home and life together. Several years later, when both Norine and her husband were encountering some age-related health problems, Norine's son (Ron) decided to leave the Air Force, at the rank of Captain, rather than accept an overseas assignment. He moved in to Norine and Russ's basement apartment for a while, and established a business as an independent locksmith. Later, he bought a home for himself in Lilburn, GA. After moving, he continued to actively assist Norine and Russ in their home.

After several years of declining health, Norine's second husband (Russ) died. By then, Norine was elderly and needed some assistance herself. Ron helped Norine sell her house and move in to his house in Lilburn. Ron continued his work as an independent locksmith, and Norine enjoyed going on some his jobs with him. They enjoyed their new neighbors and friends, their newly acquired dog, and occasional vacations. Annette Venable, their next-door-neighbor, became a close family friend. Ron fully intended to care for Norine in his home for the rest of her life.

Norine's Later Years
Tragically, Norine's son Ron died suddenly of a heart attach in 2006, when he was only 60 years old. At age 84, Norine was alone, experiencing various health and mobility problems, her memory was becoming a little fuzzy, and she had limited economic resources. This made the possibility of her being able to live on her own in their house indefinitely tenuous-yet this was her adamant goal.

Norine's older sister Peggy was now 92 and living an hour away in an independent living facility in Athens, Georgia. With transportation and other assistance by Peggy's two daughters (Patsy Higgins and Carol Holbert, both living in Greensboro, Georgia), they were able to get together with Norine and assist her in various ways through the years. In addition, Norine's neice, Sandy Linton (Mineral Bluff, Georgia); and a nephew, Jerry and wife Rose (Livermore, California) stayed in touch and visited when they could, despite not living nearby.

Fortunately, Norine had good friends, neighbors, and (later) caregivers who cared about her, and they actively enriched the final chapter of her life in those years after Ron died. Annette Venable, who was Norine and Ron's next-door-neighbor and best friend, took the lead. Annette cared for Norine the rest of Norine's life -- as-if she were Norine's devoted loving daughter. After Norine's memory became progressively fuzzy, and her mobility and ability to care for herself became more impaired, Annette served as Norine's legal guardian. Norine's neice, Patsy Higgins (Peggy Penland's youngest daughter) assisted Norine with legal and financial affairs from the time of Ron's death until Norine's death nine years later. Patsy served as Norine's legal Conservator for the final four years. Carol Holbert (Peggy's middle daughter) assisted Annette and Patsy in informal ways through the years, and joined Norine and family/friends for many visits and enjoyable restaurant outings. Peggy died almost a year ago, at the beautiful age of 99 and 3/4s, and was happy, active, and resilience to the end.

Several other relatives, friends, and neighbors also continued to visit, call, and assist Norine in various important ways in the years after's Ron's unexpected early death, including: Kathy Patton, Philip Pirkle, Roger McLain, Mike Meadows, Annette's three sons (Jeffery, Jeremy, and Josh Venable), and Patsy's husband (Mark Higgins). Individually and collectively, the caring and substantive assistance of these neighbors, friends, and relatives truly enriched Norine's later years.

Finally, during the last four years of Norine's life, after her memory and mobility required her to have 24-hour assistance, Norine was truly blessed to have two valiantly devoted homecare caregivers, Danielle Cowart and Buffie Riden, They job-shared to provide 24-hour homecare, providing excellent personal care, as well as home cooked meals, a loving family-like home environment, and day-to-day meaningful entertainment for Norine She experienced the care of these two unique caregivers as if they were enjoyable friends or loving grand-daughters. Their excellent and dependable care made it possible for Norine to do what she most wanted to do - to continue living in the Lilburn home that Ron had provided for her before his death. Danielle and Buffie even took Norine to their own homes for occasional overnight visits or holidays, which made her feel like she had her own special families. Eva Cowart also was a caring homecare provider for Norine, when Danielle and Buffie needed backup.





Funeral Home:
A.S. Turner
2773 N. Decatur Road
Decatur, GA
30033