Nora Kelly Jackson

The Jackson family is sad to announce the loss of its beloved matriarch, Norma Jackson, 92. A resident of Jacksonville for nearly 70 years, she passed away peacefully on Sunday morning, July 28th. Family and friends remember Norma as an energetic, resourceful, and practical woman, who devoted her life to the service of her family, her patients, and her church.

Nora Marie (“Norma”) Kelly was born the eldest of five siblings in Malden, Massachusetts on December 30, 1931, to Irish immigrants Mary Josephine and William Kelly, both of Galway. She often fondly recalled growing up in Boston in a quintessential American melting pot. She enjoyed navigating Boston and its environs with friends, describing the joy of ice skating on frozen ponds in the winter, and the excitement she felt traveling on her own to New York City for the first time.

After graduating from Malden Girls’ Catholic High School in 1949, Norma enrolled in the Carney Hospital School for Nurses in Medford, Massachusetts (later renamed Catherine Labouré School of Nursing), graduating as a registered nurse in 1953, and from the School of Anesthesia in 1954. Seeking to continue her specialization, she was accepted to Jacksonville’s St. Vincents Hospital Riverside then-new residency for specialized nurses training in anesthesia, completing the program as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). This achievement was a groundbreaking rarity for a woman in 1950’s healthcare.

In Jacksonville, Norma met her future husband George, whom she married in May 1957. While continuing her nursing career, Norma and George raised five children. She served patients as a CRNA with great dedication in Emergency/Trauma and Labor & Delivery for thirty-three years, retiring from St. Vincent’s in 1987.

Norma was proud of her Irish heritage and in retirement she and George made several visits to the “old country”, where she reunited with her extended family. The two also traveled throughout the United States and celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in 2007 with a trip to Alaska. She also frequently visited her children and took especially great joy in spending time with her grandchildren. Norma and George remained happily married for over sixty-five years.

A devout Catholic, Norma devoted much of her free time in service to her church, first at Christ the King parish and later Holy Spirit. She was a longtime volunteer on both churches’ maintenance and reception committees, and for years served in the Catholic Women’s Auxiliary benefiting All Saints Catholic Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center in Riverside.

Always active, Norma enjoyed walking on the beach, gardening, swimming, tennis, and writing letters to friends and family. When she wasn’t busy with other projects, Norma’s greatest pleasure was a good book (preferably a mystery), which she enjoyed savoring alongside a cup of afternoon tea.

Norma was preceded in death by her husband George W Jackson, who passed away in August 2022 and two siblings, James Kelly and Margaret (“Peggy”) Hooper. She is survived by two siblings, William Kelly and Sarah (“Sally”) Kelly, her sons Kelly, Robert, Patrick, Stephen, and Thomas, their families, her three grand-daughters Kelly, Caroline, and Emma, and many extended family members. Norma will be greatly missed by her family, friends, and all who knew her:

“May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.”

A Memorial Mass will be held on Monday, August 19th, 2024, at 11 AM at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 11665 Fort Caroline Road, Jacksonville FL. Committal ceremony will follow at Jacksonville National Cemetery at 2:30 PM. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to Holy Spirit Catholic Church (online at https://giving.parishsoft.com/app/giving/holy1166175, or by check).