Gloria was born on June 29, 1936 in China and spent her early years there until her family fled to Hong Kong shortly before the Communists gained control of southern China. When her family arrived in Hong Kong, Gloria enrolled herself in a Catholic school founded by missionaries, learned English, graduated from high school, and worked for the American Consulate where she assisted with Richard Nixon’s visit in 1958.
She set her sights on America and was the first member of her family to immigrate at the age of 22. When she arrived in Los Angeles in 1958, she met a handsome young singer, who was so smitten by her beauty and charm that he proposed on the second date. She refused, but he eventually won her over and they married in 1960 and settled in Costa Mesa, California.
They built a family and a business together, creating a software company before anyone had ever heard of a dot com. They raised two daughters, Ilena and Donna, and sent them off to Stanford University to obtain the education that Gloria did not have the opportunity to obtain. One daughter became a doctor and the other a lawyer, fulfilling the dreams of a young and determined girl in Hong Kong.
Gloria was a devout Catholic and worked for many years to support Catholic missionaries abroad, who had so influenced her life’s path.
She is survived by her husband, Donald Norton, her daughters. Ilena and Donna, their husbands Jack and Michael, her grandchildren, Cole, Luke, and Nicole, her siblings, Elizabeth, Bosco, Michael, Agnes, Philamenia, and Alan, and many nieces and nephews.
Memorial donations may be made to Catholic Charities.
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