Linda Norris

Linda Rae Norris, age 81, died peacefully, on September 4, 2024. Linda was born on April 10, 1943, in a farmhouse in Vroomin Acres to Dorothy (Calhoun) Hensley and Milton Ray Hensley. She attended a one room schoolhouse for grades 1-8. She graduated from North Kansas City High School. After graduation, she married Wayne Blakemore in 1961. The family moved to Coffeyville, KS in 1973. There, she volunteered for a Crisis Intervention Hotline and was also President of Altrusa Club, a group of professional women. She worked in the Psychiatric Department of the Occupational Therapy unit at Coffeyville Memorial Hospital, working with teenagers. Linda was on the Board of Directors for Big Brothers and Big Sisters where she became a volunteer as a Big Sister. She saw the need for more foster homes, so she decided to become a foster parent. Linda was the embodiment of home, a sanctuary where love, laughter, and delicious food were always in abundance. In 1992, she divorced and moved back to Kansas City, Missouri. She married Virgil Norris in 2002 until his death in 2021. Linda was a member of Solid Rock Bible Church where she loved to volunteer wherever she was needed. Including Sunday School, kitchen duty, and helping with VBS in the summer. She touched countless lives with her warmth and generosity. Linda contributes her love and compassion to serve from both of her grandmothers (Calhoun and Hensley).

Today, as we remember Linda, we celebrate a life lived with boundless enthusiasm and a heart brimming with love.

Linda is preceded in death by her husband, Virgil; mother, Dorothy; father, Ray; grandsons Lincoln, Craver, and Ben; two brothers, Charles and Richard; her son-in-law, Rick; and other relatives.

Surviving to cherish her memory are her children, Robin LaCore, Rick (Crystal) Blakemore, Stacey (Herman) Colbert Sr., Rob (Kara) Blakemore, and Raylene Snyder, along with a host of grandchildren and great grandchildren as well as many nieces, nephews, and great nieces and great nephews.

A visitation for Linda will be held Saturday, September 14, 2024 at 10:00 AM at White Chapel Funeral Home, 6600 NE Antioch Rd, Gladstone, MO 64119. A funeral service will occur Saturday, September 14, 2024 at 11:00 AM, 6600 NE Antioch Rd, Gladstone, MO 64119. A graveside service will occur Saturday, September 14, 2024 at 12:00 PM at White Chapel Cemetery, 6600 NE Antioch Rd, Gladstone, MO 64119.