Mary Carolina ("Carrie") Laquatra Norris, age 89, died Oct. 3, 2020, surrounded by her family at home, after a long battle with cancer. She was the axis around which her family turned--loving and devoted wife of 65 years; committed mother of three, grandmother of eight, great-grandmother of four, and friend to many.

She was remarkable for her uncomplaining, joyful and grounded approach to life, which made caring for her a gift during her years-long struggle with illness. She had a ready and memorable laugh, a great sense of humor, and a light and steadying guidance. She had a constant desire to keep from imposing, and she was always thinking of others before herself. She wrote beautiful, well-crafted letters in lovely handwriting--never missing an opportunity to mark a loved one\u0027s occasion or offer thanks for a gift. In later years, the letters became emails which her children especially will miss.

As the daughter of an Army Air Corps master sergeant, she lived in Panama and the American Southwest. She was valedictorian of her Chandler, Arizona, high school; a drum majorette; she played the accordion, and she was a singer in a group called The Five Keys. After graduating from the University of Texas, she became a junior high school English teacher. She gave up her career for marriage and family but went back to teaching at Lynnhaven Junior High School in Virginia Beach, VA, when her children were older. Her love for literature and music became family values.

As the wife of a Naval officer, she maintained her flexibility and sense of humor as the family moved from one station to another, including a two-year stint in The Philippines. A devoted daughter, she cared for her mother, Margie Lee Laquatra, who lived with her for some 30 years before Margie died in 2000.

With her husband, Carrie created a beautiful and welcoming haven on a farm in Verona, VA, where they remodeled a century-old farmhouse and maintained 95 acres where, for 36 years, Carrie was the "hostess with the mostess," organizing, shopping for, and housing family and friends on numerous happy occasions.

She was a formidable Scrabble foe who also maintained a keen interest in history, literature and politics. She was an excellent conversationalist who loved fun, wordplay, crossword puzzles, and dogs. She was described as "nobody\u0027s fool," and "a force" who had great empathy for others and a knack for staying connected with friends and family.

Despite the limitations of Covid, as she was dying, many friends and family members made pilgrimages to visit with her from outside her window. We know she was grateful to each who came or whom she knew were scheduled to come, even if they didn\u0027t make it in time. She told her family that their love was keeping her alive.

She is survived by her husband, Lowry Wayne Norris; her children-- Kiel (and wife Lisa Marie) Norris; her daughter Lisa Norris; her daughter Jody (and husband Tom) Southall; her grandchildren Krista Lyn, Cody (and wife Sarah) Norris; Konrad (and wife Alyssa) Norris; Bryce Norris; Will Stauffer-Norris; Steven Southall, Katie Southall (and husband William) Czubakowski, and step-granddaughter Susan Falco, as well as her great-grandchildren Leo, Shiloh, Graham, and Cruz Norris.

Carrie's family is ever grateful to the folks at the Emily Couric Cancer Center at UVA who took great care of her for five-and-a-half years and to Augusta Health Hospice of the Shenandoah who made her final days at home possible.

Coffman Funeral Home and Crematory, 230 Frontier Drive, Staunton, is in charge of her arrangements.