Mary Adela Norconk

Mary Adela (Dell) Norconk, age 93, passed away at Kearny Mesa Convalescent after a long and healthy life. She was a long-time resident of Chula Vista, CA, living in three neighborhoods from 1949 to 2010, first in Shady Side, then F Street, Oxford Ct., and at Gentry Glen on 3rd Ave. She was preceded in death by her husband, LCDR John Tracy Norconk (b. 1910, d. 1973) in San Diego, CA; sister Jessie Marie Dare (b. 1910, d. 1997) in Chula Vista, CA; and brother, Eugene Peter Dare (b. 1908, d. 1996) in Seal Beach, CA, and many, many friends. Dell was born in St. Joseph’s Infirmary in Atlanta GA on April 27th, 1920, the third of three children to Peter Alexander Dare (b. 1881, d. 1950) and Mary Adela (Byrne) Dare (b. 1881; d. 1978). The family moved to Long Beach CA where Dell attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School. She met and married Tracy Norconk in Long Beach in 1943. She is survived by all of her children, their partners/spouses and eight grandchildren.

Their first child, Marilyn Ann, was born in 1948 at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, IL, and currently resides in Youngstown OH with her partner, Jean Engle. John Edward was born in 1950 in La Mesa CA and has been a long-time resident of Oceanside CA. Dell and Tracy’s second son, Charles Eugene, was born in 1955 in Long Beach CA and resides in Scripps Ranch, San Diego with his wife Elizabeth (Woodward) Norconk and their children Liam Charles, Gabrielle Alissa, Isabelle Nicole (all b. 1998), and Evan Tracy (b. 2001). Their third son, Paul Tracy, was born in 1958 at the Naval Hospital in San Diego. Paul lives in Monrovia CA with his wife, Sheri (Sorensen) Norconk and two sons, Spencer Harley (b. 1995) and Samuel Ash (b. 1997). Paul has two step-children, Kristin Marie Barker Hall (b. 1986) who lives in San Diego and Jeffrey Scott Barker (b. 1988) currently living in Colorado.

Over the years, Dell was a parishioner of St. Rose of Lima and Church of the Most Precious Blood, both Catholic churches in Chula Vista. She taught CCD classes to children for several years in the 1960s before attending Pacific College in San Diego in 1969 after Tracy retired from active duty (U.S. Navy). The next year, she was employed as a pharmacy assistant at Fredericka Manor in Chula Vista from 1970 to 1977. She then received a Federal Civil Service appointment at General Dynamics and worked in Kearny Mesa from 1978 to 1980. She served as a quality assurance inspector in 1981 to 1985 when she retired. She wrote in her Christmas letter that year, “I am a ‘free’ woman, having retired earlier in the year. Sometimes, when I am off enjoying myself with family and friends, I think, Wow! – this is great!”

Dell loved to travel. Her 40 Christmas letters document the nearly annual trips she made with her children to Michigan and points north and east, with her husband to Europe, and with friends to Canada. She drove 7,700 miles in 1989 in her 1988 Buick Cutlass Ciera and continued to drive until 2010, when her car sat for longer and longer periods of time in the garage.

In 2010, with her mobility declining, she moved from her condo in Gentry Glen into assisted living at Fredericka Manor (where she still had many friends from her working life there) and in 2011 to Kearny Mesa Convalescent, adjacent to Sharp Hospital where her son Charles is a pharmacist. The last move was hard for her. She had not shared a room with anyone since her husband died 40 years earlier, and her mobility continued to decline. But her mind remained sharp and she was incredibly astute and observant. She read the newspaper every day and clearly enjoyed vicarious excursions into local events.

She derived most enjoyment from spending time with her children and grandchildren. Ironically, her grand-daughter Gabrielle, who now volunteers at Kearny Mesa Convalescent, spent time with her the day before she died, and Dell travelled to Monrovia with Marilyn and her grand-daughter, Isabelle, to spend the day with Paul and his family just a few weeks before she died.

Dell’s long life spanned two centuries and, despite losing Tracy so long ago, she persevered making a new life for herself and displaying remarkable emotional strength. She enjoyed meeting and interacting with people (she had an incredible memory for names), and despite the relative isolation at Kearny Mesa, her social circle actually widened at this excellent facility. She would have loved to have seen her grandchildren mature into adults. We will all miss her.

August 11th 2013