Norma Becknell was born on May 20, 1926 in Jackson, Mississippi to Sylvester D. Currie and Mabel Dupre Currie. When "Nomo" and I would sit and chat, she often would reflect on her childhood and all the memories shared with her parents and siblings. She would always stress that her mother was a LADY, and that she didn't stand for much nonsense. Norma was very proud of her mother, and the fact that she had been a nurse, however there were some undertones that left you with a feeling that these two strong women may have butted heads a few times when Norma was a teenager. She would often say that her mother was opinionated at certain times, but she would say it in a way that left you feeling empathy - because you could tell just how much she missed her mother. Norma's father and her brother both left home for quite some time. It was not something that was often discussed, it seemed to be a painful memory for my grandmother. When she'd call upon memories of her father, there was something almost childlike about her mannerisms, almost as though she regressed to the moment he left. She told me once, that she remembered drawing this owl on a sheet of paper, and she was so excited to show her father, she ran up to him while he was working on their family car. He took a glance at it and told her that it was a very nice picture. She smiled as she told me that story, even after all the years had past, even after the separation - a sweet simple memory of her father's pride in a sketch by his daughter made her feel ten feet tall.