Norma Carlson Quarterman

Visitation will be held Sunday, January 19, from 2:00 to 2:30 p.m., at Parkway Funeral Home, followed by the funeral service at 2:30 p.m. Graveside Service will follow at Lakewood Memorial Park at 4:00 p.m., where she will be buried on a quiet hill next to her husband and his parents.

Norma was born in a Swedish farming community in Georgetown, Texas, on March 19, 1923, to Eric Carlson and Nora Forsvall Carlson. She was proud of her heritage, able to quote a Swedish prayer at the age of 100.

She had three brothers and one sister. When she was young, her parents would speak Swedish around the house. She and her siblings worked hard during the Depression to sustain the farm. She still remembers washing out the milk cans to her brother Rodney’s satisfaction. She sometimes joked that most children hated when school started in September, but she loved it, as she did not have to work in the cotton fields any more. Nevertheless, her upbringing developed a strong work ethic.

After graduating from high school, Norma went to business college in Austin, Texas, where she learned typing and shorthand. She was working for the Selective Service during WWII when she met her future husband Palmer at a USO dance. She had 5 dates scheduled the next day: breakfast, Sunday School, Lunch, fishing, and dinner, but Palmer said he wanted to see her too, so he waited around for her! They had something special, and a year to the day they met, they were married in Austin. But after only one month together, he was shipped off for 2½ years of war with the Ninth Air Force in Europe.

On his return, they moved to Palmer’s home in New Orleans, built a house in Metairie, and began a family. They moved to Jackson, Mississippi, in 1955, and built a house in which they lived for 55 years. She worked for Standard Life and Allstate insurance companies, retiring in 1985 as Executive Secretary to the Regional Manager, Allstate Insurance Company.

She loved her azaleas and flowerbed, and she and Palmer enjoyed golf and travel in retirement, even visiting their grandchildren in Portugal and Ukraine. At age 90, Palmer developed health problems, so they moved to the Orchard in 2010, where she continued happily for 14½ years.

Norma kept a diary from age 16 until her eyesight failed. She was a gifted writer. In 1959, CBS sponsored a writing contest and picked a winner in each state. Norma won the Mississippi contest, and the 50 winners traveled to Hollywood and New York. Her articles were published in the Clarion Ledger. They met many movie and Broadway stars, including Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, and Ronald Reagan.

She regularly read her Bible, read Bible stories to her children, and regularly listened to sermons on the radio. Her children dearly remember her cooking and caring and her listening ear. The family was always at First Presbyterian Church, where she served as President of the Women in the Church in the early 1990’s. To the end, she remembered hymns and would sing along when we sang to her.

Norma was always a beautiful woman, but her inner beauty continued to shine to the end. Being blessed with a long life is a mixed blessing. She was preceded in death by almost everyone she knew, including her husband Palmer and her daughter, Susan Q. Reid (Mrs. Ken Reid) of Olive Branch, MS. As Norma approached her 100th birthday, she often asked, “Why does God still leave me here? If there’s something else God wants me to do, I wish he’d tell me, so I could do it!” But she was a joy to all who knew her, always being upbeat, courteous, and unassuming.

She was not only a wonderful mother and mother-in-law, but she let her in-laws move in with them and helped provide their care for years. She is survived by three children: Charles P. Quarterman (Millie) of Jackson, MS; Dr. Clayton E. Quarterman (Darlene) of Brandon, MS; and Cynthia Q. Hagerman (Johnny), of Aliceville, AL. Also surviving are ten grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren – a quiver full!

Memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church, 1390 N. State Street, Jackson, MS 39202, or a charity of your choice.

Born: March 19, 1923

Died: January 17, 2025