Biographical Note

Robert Younger Norman was born to John E. Norman, Sr., and Ora Estelle Norman (nee Morgan) on August 6, 1913, in Moneta, Virginia. As an adolescent, he moved to Roanoke and began working as a chauffeur. He married Willie Mae Smith (1910-2004) on March 11, 1938, in Roanoke. During World War II, Norman enlisted in the Quartermaster Corps of the U.S. Army from his enlistment on July 16, 1943, until his discharge on December 26, 1945. Later in life, he worked as a laborer in the gas industry in Roanoke.

Norman was an active member of the Pilgrim Gospel Singers, a Black gospel choir associated with the Promise Land Baptist Church in Moneta, from the 1950s onwards. The choir traveled Virginia to sing at church events.

Norman died in Roanoke on October 13, 1977, and he and his wife Willie are buried in Hurts Gate Cemetery in Moneta.

External Sources:

U.S. Censuses, 1920-1950

"Robert Younger Norman", Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63926470/robert-younger-norman, accessed September 7, 2023.

"Mrs Willie Mae 'Aunt Willie' Smith Norman", Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63925992/willie-mae-norman, accessed September 7, 2023.

"Robert Younger Norman" in the Virginia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1936-2014, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/10976959:9279, accessed September 7, 2023.

"Robert Younger Norman" in the Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/1656010:9278, accessed September 7, 2023.

"Robert Younger Norman" in the U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/2072367:2441, accessed September 7, 2023.

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