Norma Songe Signore's Obituary
Celebrating the Life of Norma Songe Signore
Norma was born on July 3, 1918 in Houma, Louisiana to the late Willis Songe and Maggie Bouquet Songe. She graduated from Terrebonne High School with the highest grade-point average in her class and was awarded the American Legion School Award. She was a lifelong learner, an avid reader, and encouraged all of her family and many others to further their education. Norma married Daniel Raymond Signore, Jr. on December 10, 1942, the night before he was deployed to the Fiji Islands in WWII. She was a consummate homemaker and supported her husband in running his produce business in Houma, LA and then his beer and soda distributorship in Montgomeryville, PA. They moved from Louisiana to Pennsylvania in 1960 and retired to Florida in 1979. They were happily married for 65 years, had 8 children, 16 grandchildren, and 32 great grandchildren. They loved to travel, including internationally, domestically, and especially cruising.
She loved sewing, crocheting, reading, and crossword puzzles. Many of her daughters’ dresses were sewn by her. Each child, grandchild, great grandchild and many close friends have a special item that was crocheted by her, including afghans, baptismal clothes, baby clothes, shawls, scarves, baby blankets, and hats. Norma crocheted hundreds of hats. She even made 84 at one time to donate to every child living at Metropolitan Ministries, because “no child should have to go without a hat in wintertime”, and as a 93-year-old she volunteered for a day to hand out her hats and rock babies, because “babies need a nap” but she didn’t. An avid reader who loved history, she would pass books on to anyone that would take them but especially to someone who she thought would appreciate that particular book. You could give her a book, and a week later she would want to discuss it with you. In late 2023 she read her last full book, The World: A Family History of Humanity, a 1,344-page history of the world told with a series of biographies. In her last months she was comforted by numerous people reading aloud to her – poetry, the Gospels, Psalms, biographies, trivia. Her mind was sharp till the end, doing crossword puzzles, discussing genealogy, and concerned about world events. More than anything, she believed in loving everyone and went the extra mile to avoid confrontation with anyone. After faith in Jesus Christ, and a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Norma was devoted to her family. Her secret for a long life was “moderation in everything”.
She was a life-long Roman Catholic, a member of Light of Christ Parish for 42 years, and a member of St. Michael The Archangel Parish since 2023. She was an active member of the Light of Christ Women’s Guild, the forerunner of the current chapter of the Council of Catholic Women, supporting them with many crocheted items that were donated to Kimberly Home or hospitals, or sold at the annual Holly Fair supporting Light of Christ Parish.
She is survived by her 7 children, Bonnie (Robert) Comly, Penny (Ron) Jaros, Alice (Peter) Bobotas, Mary (Michael) Blackett, Kathryn Brumbaugh, Deacon Daniel (Darlene) Signore III, Philip (Cindy) Signore; Son-in-law Stewart L. Davis III; 16 grandchildren; 32 great-grandchildren; brother Murray (Sherry) Songe of Wilsonville, OR and sister Rosemary Songe Whitney of Houma, LA. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Daniel Raymond Signore Jr., daughter, Norma Davis of Safety Harbor, FL; and son-in-law, William Brumbaugh of Lansdale, PA. She will be missed by all who knew and loved her, and her memory will be treasured by her family and friends.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to:
Kimberly Home, 1189 NE Cleveland St., Clearwater, FL 33755
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