Carla Norris

5/3/1942 — 9/30/2014

• Service Date: 10/4/2014
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Carla Jean Norris, 72, of Culdesac, and longtime resident of Coulee Dam, Wash., died Sept. 30, 2014, in Lewiston, after a short, vicious battle with cancer.

Carla was born May 3, 1942, in San Diego, to Lester and Vivian (Corbett) Bernal. She grew up in Burney, Calif., where she met and married Michael Briceno. They had two children. She later moved to Lewiston, where she married Kenneth Henry ,and they had one daughter. In Lewiston, she started her journey to becoming a nurse, which she did the hard way, while taking care of three children and working full time. She also met and married her longtime husband, James (Big Boy) Norris.

She received her licensed practical nurse degree from Lewiston Normal School in 1970 and then went on to receive her associate degree in nursing from Lewis-Clark State College in 1973, at which time she was recognized as the Nursing Student of the Year at LCSC. She eventually received her bachelor's degree in nursing from LCSC as a member of the first bachelor of science nursing class in 1982.

She was proud to work as a nurse in various capacities. She worked for St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston in the maternity ward and pediatrics, and later for the North Idaho Children's Home. She then worked for the Indian Health Service for many years in various locations, including Lapwai, Kamiah, Seattle, Warm Springs, Ore., and Nespelem, Wash., where she eventually retired. After retiring, she continued to work as a home health nurse for Grant and Okanogan counties.

Carla came to call Coulee Dam, Wash., home, where she was highly involved with the Coulee Dam Eagles Aerie and Grand Coulee Moose Lodge Chapter No. 849. She loved to play pool and won multiple championships in the Coulee Dam pool league and various tournaments. In her earlier years, she also enjoyed playing softball and bowling and continued to live an active lifestyle, exercising multiple times a week up until her death. She was an avid reader and, after retiring, she volunteered for the local libraries. She also loved word games and puzzles and would compete with her husband Jim to see who would get to do the daily crossword.

Carla loved to travel and have a good time and was known for her warm smile and laugh. She took many trips to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, Las Vegas, the Kentucky Derby, Hawaii, etc., and was always thinking of the next exciting thing she wanted to do. She enjoyed camping and fishing and made the annual trip to Idaho to camp with family at Mud Springs near Winchester and was a member of the Mud Springs Association.

She is survived by her children, Michael (Handy) (Debbie) Briceno and Vivian (Mark) Wilson, all of Lapwai; her grandchildren, Mitchell and Cara Wilson and Mikala Briceno of Lapwai and Rayona Kimbrough, Renata Anderson and Hailey Wilson, all of Seattle. She has three great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Carla was preceded in death by her parents; her daughter, Sheila Briceno; and her husband, Jim.

There will be a memorial service at 7 p.m. Friday at Malcom's Brower-Wann Funeral Home in Lewiston with funeral services to follow at 10 a.m. Saturday at the same location. There will be a dinner immediately following the funeral at the Catholic Dining Hall in Lapwai. There will be no burial, so the family requests, in lieu of flowers, please donate to either the Mud Springs Association or your favorite charity.

Service Information

Date & Time

Saturday, October 4, 10:00 AM

Location

Malcom's Brower-Wann Funeral Home
1711 18th Street
Lewiston, ID 83501

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Additional Details

A memorial service will be held, Friday, October 3, 2014, at 7:00 p.m., at Malcom's Brower-Wann Funeral Home

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