Norma Mae (Gladding) Godwin

Norma Mae Gladding Godwin, 91, wife of the late Gene Edward Godwin and a longtime resident of Bloxom, Virginia passed away on Thursday, October 20, 2022, at Commonwealth Senior Living at the Eastern Shore in Onancock, Virginia.

Born May 16, 1931, in Mearsville, Virginia, Norma was the daughter of the late Clarence McClellan Gladding and the late Mary Elizabeth Knight Gladding. She was predeceased by her brothers Clarence Willard Gladding (and his wife, Vera) and Calvin Reed Gladding (and his wife, Sadie).

Norma graduated from Longwood College in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education. She was a teacher in the Accomack County public school system for 30 years.

In August 1952, she married the love of her life Gene Edward Godwin of Bloxom, Virginia. They were married for 64 years before his passing in 2016.

She was a longtime member of Bethel Baptist Church in Bloxom, where she taught Sunday School, participated in Vacation Bible School, and was active in the Woman’s Missionary Union. She had a heart for missions and loved buying school supplies and toys to fill shoeboxes for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child.

She is survived by her three children, Paula Godwin Kirk (Ron) of Lenoir City, Tennessee; Gary Gladding Godwin (Karol) of Ramona, California; and Marla Ann Godwin of Virginia Beach, Virginia; and by her six grandchildren, David Kirk, Katherine Gray, Lucas Godwin, Lindsey Godwin, Logan Godwin and Megan Rainey.

Funeral services will be conducted from the chapel of the Williams Funeral Home in Parksley, VA on Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at 1:00 p.m., with The Reverend James R. Maddox officiating. Interment will follow at the Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery in Bloxom, VA.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Samaritan’s Purse, Operation Christmas Child, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607 or online at www.samaritanspurse.org.

Memory tributes may be shared with the family at www.williamsfuneralhomes.com.

Arrangements by the Williams-Parksley Funeral Home.

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