Norma Jean Marner, 84, Winona Lake, Ind., passed away at 8:59 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013, at Kosciusko Community Hospital in Warsaw, Ind.

She was born May 13, 1929, to Emsley Otis and Mary Gladys (Miller) Blackburn in Kokomo, Ind.

In 1968 the family moved north to Warsaw, Ind. Jean was a homemaker for most of her life but worked alongside her husband at Wholesale Electric Company in Warsaw for about 10 years. She was kind, quick to forgive and eager to make others happy.

She attended Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church from 1972 to the present. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends.

As a young girl Norma Jean helped with farming chores for her uncles as well as working in her father’s gas station. She and her sister would race to clean the windshields of young men who drove in. Her future husband was one of those boys.

She and William “Ervin” Marner exchanged letters and pictures when he served in the South Pacific during World War II. They were married Oct. 1, 1949, and enjoyed 47 years of marriage before his death on June 5, 1996.

Norma is survived by her children: Larry (Janet) Marner, Linda (Harry) Caudill, Marcia (Jerry) Faulkner and Michelle (David) Phelps; grandchildren: Sarah, Noah, Brian, Amanda, Mike, Greg and Kayla; and great-grandchildren: Emily, Ashley, Hailey, Cooper, Lucas, Gavin, Allee and Declin.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; and three brothers: Everett Blackburn and Richard and Clarence Bowland.

Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, at Redpath-Fruth Funeral Home, 225 Argonne Rd., Warsaw. Her funeral service will follow at 1 p.m. Saturday and is to officiated by Pastor Norman Snyder and assisted by Reverend Tom Miller. A private burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery of Warsaw.

Memorials may be made to Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, 1200 Kings Highway, Winona Lake, IN 46590.