Norma W. Queen

Norma W. Queen has left us, with memories of Lemon Bars, Cheese Strata and an open door for family and friends to stay for dinner…or longer.

Norma was born to Gladys Wright and Everett Wentworth.  They lived in New Hampshire before moving to Massachusetts.  The Wentworth ancestors helped the new colonists and were Governors of the newly formed state of New Hampshire.  

She was the eldest of three children.  There were lots of family and extended family dinners over the years in that small home on Liberty Street in Randolph.

Donald Queen and Norma were set up by close friends for a date; they married in 1947 while the young Navy sailor was on leave from his ship.  Then life was a series of moves for the next almost 30 years.  There were two children, Diane Rae and David Robert Queen, who grew up helping pack and unpack in record time.  

Norma was a natural hostess wherever they were stationed.  There was always food to share and Happy Hour was a norm.   They finally settled in Lansing, New York, and made that their home.  She worked at Holly's Fashion Store in downtown Ithaca, and later at Laser and Brewer.  Don passed away in 1989. 

Norma spent the later years of her life with her longtime companion, Dick Harris.

The two traveled between Lansing, New York, and Oak Island, North Carolina.  Norma often referred to her home as “Queen’s Motel;” all were welcome there.

In their senior years, the two shared many meals and 5:00 p.m. happy hours, accompanied by laughs and bottles of Chardonnay, with all generations of Norma’s family and Dick’s family, and with the many friends they enjoyed in Oak Island and Lansing.

As our bonus grandfather, Dick was a constant presence of comfort, love, and good humor for the whole family until he passed away in June, 2022.

Norma is a grandmother to six grandchildren...all adults, and she is great grandmother to eight.  She is known by her request as “Nana.”  That title is expanded to “Nana 2” by her sister’s grandchildren, to whom she also showed grandmotherly affection.  The chat site for the family is labeled "Nana's Hive."  Members of the "Hive" live in New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.  The other half lives in Montana.

Norma’s daughter-in-law, Renee Curtis Queen, would like to express gratitude for forty-two years of tutelage and example in family care, hospitality and generosity. During Norma’s son David’s final illness, any need was met with the command “put it on the cahd,” [Bostonian for “card”’].

She will be laid to rest next to Don and other family members in Ludlowville Pine Grove Cemetery in Lansing, New York, with the assistance of Lansing Funeral Home.

Her request is to not send flowers, but rather help support the The Lansing Food Pantry, 1767 East Shore Drive, Lansing, NY 14882, or Loaves And Fishes, 210 North Cayuga, Street, Ithaca, NY 14850, with a contribution in her memory.