NORMA MARILYN LONG (MATHER)

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NORMA MARILYN LONG

It is with great sorrow, after a brief illness, to announce the passing of Norma Marilyn Long (nee Mather) on August 14, 2019 in Winnipeg, MB.
Norma was predeceased by her father and mother, Ernest and Joy (nee Trites), sister Arlyne and brother-in-law Murray Benson of White Rock, BC.
Norma was born on December 1, 1932 in Moncton, NB where she spent her very active childhood visiting with her grandparents, riding the bus around town for a nickel, at the rink, going to dances and having fun with her lifelong friends. One of her first jobs was at Eaton's Candy Counter, of which she would often share the story of how the candies would accumulate on the bottoms of her shoes during the Christmas season rush and she would be an inch taller by the end of the day. She attended Horton Academy in Wolfville, NS for high school and after graduation she began studying Secretarial Sciences at Acadia University.
Norma would return to Moncton, where worked as a part of the stenographers' pool at the railway, and for the Co-operators. During this time, she met her first husband, Ron Long and they remained married for nearly 25 years but ultimately parted ways. During their time together they entertained, travelled and had a cottage at Pointe-du-Chêne, where those lifelong friends played a prominent role in her life. At this time in her life, Norma began to follow her mother's employment path and entered the world of the Graphic Arts Industry. Her mother had been a typesetter for the Moncton Times-Transcript and Norma began setting type, which lead to her operating her own company called the Type and Composition Service for 18 years.
Printing became a prominent part of her life; she was involved with the Graphic Arts Association for the Maritimes as the Secretary and through association received a scholarship to attend the Graphic Arts program at Ryerson in Toronto. While at an industry conference in Halifax, she met the man who would make her journey on the garden path wonderful for her, William (Bill) Dubesky. Bill was heavily involved in Industry and Association for the Western Region. Their romance eventually brought her to Winnipeg, where she worked at a number of jobs to learn her way around the city but ultimately ended up working with Bill at his business, Baker Graphics Canada Limited. She successfully sold printing throughout the city, became a trusted person in the industry and made many friends along the way. She and Bill travelled, attended events, took cruises, raised dogs and became an inseparable team. In moving to Winnipeg, she also took on two instant kids, stepping into the role as mother to Bill's children, Christa and Bill Jr.
As with every encounter on the path Norma treaded it led to the most rewarding outcome, as she was very proud of having providing much needed support, stability and guidance to her new family. After Bill's passing in 2001, Norma continued to be involved in the community as she started attending her "Bomber Girls" lunches, attended Parrot Club of Manitoba Meetings, and was a member of the Manitoba Maritimes Association. She was an avid knitter and made blankets for the United Way, Villa Rosa, and the Winnipeg Humane Society. Her blankets have been sent all over the world to friends who had new arrivals in their life. Norma still had the desire to travel and took trips out to the Maritimes to attend her class reunions at Acadia and visit with her friends and family "out east". She also remained in constant contact as she loved to talk on the phone catching up with her friends. Toward the end of her life, she enjoyed going out "on the bus" again to attend the adult day program, as well attending their lunch outings at Celebrations or the trolley car tour around the city. Her love of animals continued as she had her dog and cat companions, as well she started to have a following as she became the star of her daughter Christa's, "old lady updates" on Facebook. Norma's life was a life well lived and she lived it to the fullest with an outlook that was always positive.
A paper clipping was found tucked away amongst her things which read:
When I must leave you for a little while, Please do not grieve and shed wild tears, and hug your sorrow to you through the years, but start out bravely with a gallant smile; and for my sake and in my name live on and do all the things the same, feed not your loneliness on empty days, but fill each waking hour in useful ways, reach out your hand in comfort and cheer and I in turn will comfort you and hold you near; and never, never be afraid to die, for I am waiting for you in the sky!

Celebration of Life shall take place in summer 2020 in both Winnipeg and Moncton, for close friends and family. In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to a charity of ones' choice.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 12, 2019