Norma Newell Price

Norma was the wife of John Henry Price, Jr (living). She was predeceased by her parents, Sanford Hamner “Sam” Newell and Jane Haven Stowell Newell Broome (Jackson, MS); her sister, Jane Ellen Newell Naef and brother-in-law, Richard W. Naef (Jackson, MS); her brother, Sanford “Sam” Hamner Newell, Jr and sister-in-law Ceres Hyland Newell (Spartanurg, SC) and niece, Ceres Jane Newell Ramsey (Spartanburg, SC). She is survived by her husband John Henry Price, Jr; her daughter Dianne Price Knowles (Glenn) of Boston, MA; her son David Newell Price (Valerie) of Flowood, MS; grandchildren Alexandra Elizabeth Knowles Kahveci (Kyle) of Dedham, MA; Christiana Haven Knowles of Boston, MA; and Hunter Flynt (Serena) of Jackson, MS; great-grandchildren Benjamin Alden Kahveci, Graham Alexander Kahveci, Harrison James Flynt, and Hayes Thomas Flynt; Nieces Linda Naef (Richard Hudson) of Jackson, MS; Lorie Naef (Ted Ammon) of Jackson, MS; Lisa Naef Terry (Michael) of Queens, NY; Becky Newell Marshall (John) of Atlanta, GA; and Patricia Ann Dreve of Memphis, TN; Nephews Sanford Hamner “Sandy” Newell III (Ann) of Statesboro, GA; Leigh Newell of Pensacola, FL; Frederick Guthrie Price, Jr. (Kim) of Memphis, TN.

Norma was born on February 24, 1934 in Jackson, Mississippi. She attended Jackson Public Schools and graduated from Central High School in 1952. During her senior year of high school, she attended High School in the morning and in the afternoon went to Millsaps College. In 1953, she transferred to the University of North Carolina for her sophomore year. In the summer of 1954, after her father’s untimely death, she transferred back to Millsaps in order to help her mother. While there, she sang in the Millsaps Singers and majored in English with a minor in French.

Following college, she met John Price. They were quickly engaged and married on July 14, 1956. In 1958, their daughter, Dianne, was born and in 1961, she gave birth to their son, David. Norma stayed home while the children were young, and was involved in several luncheon clubs. She enjoyed volunteering for Jackson’s Little Theater (now called the New Stage Theater) building sets, caring for costumes, and attending to the needs of actors backstage. She was very involved in her childrens’ activities including PTA meetings, making costumes for school plays, and going on church choir tours with them.

In 1969, Norma began working at the Research and Development Center as a secretary using the new mag-card typewriter (a kind of precursor to later computers). Always interested in learning, in 1975, she decided to go to law school at the Mississippi School of Law. She graduated and passed the bar in 1979. Norma worked for several years on child support cases, the Fordice campaign, and then went to work for Health and Human Services. Later, she worked for Haley Barbour in the governor’s office - a job that she greatly enjoyed. She loved working and using her mind.

Norma and John attended Christ Methodist Church and were very active for years in their Sunday School class there. Norma also attended a weekly Bible Study that met in friends’ homes from 1983 until 2019. She loved attending the women’s Monday Luncheon at First Baptist Jackson. She has many longtime friends, but especially with a group of 9 friends with whom she had attended grade school, high school, and some even college.

Norma will be remembered as a talkative, friendly, and very generous person with her friends and family. She loved learning, dancing, poetry, Bartlett’s book of quotations, finding a deal, and being a grandmother.

The family would like to express our deepest gratitude to Lashonda Robinson, Teresa Cox, Deborah Lindsey, and Simone Poindexter for their love, comfort, and exceptional care of our Noni these past few years. We also extend our heartfelt appreciation to the staff and nurses of Sitters, LLC and Compassus Hospice Care, respectively.

Noni, we’ll miss you so much, and we love you, but we know we’ll see you again one day.

A visitation for Norma will be held at Parkway Funeral Home in Ridgeland, Mississippi on Friday, September 1, 2023 from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm. Funeral service will follow at 12:30 pm.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the charity of your choice.