Norma Townsend of Iowa City turned 101 in February. Now, she shares a few life lessons.
In 1922, Marvel Comics publisher Stan Lee, actress Betty White and writer Kurt Vonnegut were all born.
So was Norma Townsend, then Norma Haynes, on Feb. 13. She just celebrated her 101st birthday this month.
Norma, born and raised in East St. Louis, Illinois, lived through World War II, the Civil Rights Movement, the invention of the internet and so much more.
Five generations of Townsends — Norma being the first — were present in the Iowa City home of Orville and Billie Townsend, Norma’s son and daughter-in-law, the weekend before her birthday to celebrate the remarkable milestone, and an equally remarkable woman.
When the Press-Citizen visited the Townsends’ home for an interview Feb. 14, colorful balloons and a poster depicting facts about the year 1922 hung in the kitchen area. Nearby was a nearly finished sheet cake.
Norma sat at a dining table in a crimson sweater and light blue jeans.
There she spoke about her life, accompanied by son Orville, who moved to Iowa City in 1962. He was recruited to the University of Iowa on a football scholarship and has remained active in the community, even serving on the city’s community police review board.
A dedicated mother
The East St. Louis woman was one of nine children born to Eugene and Claudia Haynes.
Norma and her younger brother were born in their home, she recalled.
Her parents were stern. Her father was a “good provider.”
“(Mama) had a good arm, good for whipping,” Norma said with a laugh.
She said it was “fun” growing up in a large family. She and her siblings looked forward to Christmas, where their mother would put out something for each of them.
Norma pursued cosmetology, attending beauty school in the evenings while she worked in the daytime. She received her license, and she worked as a cosmetologist until her retirement.
In 1941, she had her first son, Otis. Then, she had Orville. Her two “monsters,” she referred to them with affection.
Orville was a “tough little rascal” she said, recalling how her son always had his fists balled up. Otis, she said, was quiet.
Norma, a Baptist, recalled how she sent Orville to Sunday school, only for him to be mouthy to the tough teacher.
It was Orville who, out of all the cousins, had a special relationship with Norma’s father, she observed.
“Big Daddy promised me he was going to go to my play and graduation. So, he always kept his promises. That was one thing that was very emphasized on,” Orville said. “If you’re not going to keep your word, don’t give it.”
Orville said his mother received no financial assistance from the state, her family deemed as sufficient to help support her instead. But Norma didn’t ask for her family’s help.
“I had to make it,” she said. “I had a job to do, so I just did it.”
One life lesson: ‘You know where you came, but you don’t know where you’re going’
There were always hot meals in their home, Orville recalled.
Norma found the time to cook for her two sons, even amid her responsibilities for work.
“In working in a beauty shop, I saw so much happen,” Norma said. “Some things that some women put up with just to have a man, I couldn’t have done it. So I thought just best for me to stay single.”
One of the happiest moments in Orville’s life, he said, was when he — then an adult — went to his mother’s graduation.
Norma attended night school to receive her diploma because she didn’t finish her senior year of high school. She got her diploma in 1964.
“Stand by your children,” Norma said about one of her beliefs. “When (God) made a way for them, He made a way for me too. And look where I am now. I’m with (Orville).”
Norma has lived with her son in Iowa City for years, though the exact number is difficult to pinpoint, according to the Townsends.
If someone told Norma she’d be living with Orville, she wouldn’t believe it. But life can take people in quite unexpected directions. That’s something she’s well aware of.
“I’m happy to see (Orville) happy… you know life is a funny thing,” Norma said. “You never know. You know where you came, but you don’t know where you’re going.”
Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach her at PBarraza@press-citizen.com or 319-519-9731. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: 101-year-old Iowa City woman shares stories from her impressive life
