Norma T. Hurley

Despite the similarity in the words, Norma was anything but normal. She wasn't just one in a million—she was one of a kind. She navigated the path of her life on her own terms. She was a friendly and no-nonsense business owner who skillfully altered the clothes and the dispositions of multiple generations of Boca Ratonians. She was a speaker of truth, a teller of stories, and a dispenser of advice. She was not one to suffer fools gladly but she was loyal to a fault—and that was necessary because many of the people she loved and nurtured could best be described as escaped mental patients masquerading as family and friends.

In addition to being a passionate Miami Dolphins fan, Norma was an avid bowler. She even bowled a perfect game, which just added to her already legendary status as a human being. To spare her loved ones, she took out her frustrations on the golf course and generously donated her son's inheritance to bingo parlors and casinos. She loved to take her chance at luck and luck smiled back at her often in life.

Norma was a proud and active member of the American Legion Post 162, where we will soon be gathered to celebrate her life and remember her love. Cocktails will be served.

No one could hear Norma's laugh and feel down at the same time. She loved with her whole heart and was the caretaker of so many people in so many ways that it could have been her full-time job. Of her many successful roles in life, though, she relished two the most: mother and grandmother. She only had one child but she was the most important person in his life, his touchstone, and his fierce role model. Having waited long enough to have seen great-grandchildren, she was nonetheless tickled pink to welcome her only grandchild Zachary into the world. This was a miraculous gift to Norma and contributed to her final years being her absolute best. Zach will be forever blessed with the gift of knowing the love of his Nana for his first and most formative years.

To honor Norma, we can endeavor to live our lives by our own rules, love deeply, and most of all, remember that we're not here just to make it through another day but rather to savor the ordinary moments that, strung together, make a life.

There will never be another one like her.

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Norma Hurley was born August 10, 1943 in Waynesville, North Carolina, to the late Milburn Trantham and Ruth Bradley Trantham, and attended Crabtree High School.

In addition to her parents, Norma was also preceded in death by her husband Louie Zebell and sister Camille Leopard.

Surviving are her son Russell Wayne Hurley, sisters Wanda White and Kathi Matthews, brothers Dennis Trantham and J.T. Trantham, grandson Zachary Thomas Hurley, 3 nieces, 4 nephews, 5 great nieces and 1 great-grandnephew.

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A MEMORIAL SERVICE will be conducted Friday September 15, 20232 at 1:30pm at South Florida National Cemetery located at 6501 S. State Road 7, Lake Worth, Florida 33449.

Following the Memorial Service, a CELEBRATION OF LIFE GATHERING will be held from 4pm-6pm at the American Legion Post 162 located at 820 SE 8th Avenue, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33441.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.babionesouthflorida.com for the Hurley family.