Norma Elizabeth Fuller's Obituary
Norma Elizabeth Jones Fuller, 94, of Athalia, Ohio, passed away to her eternal home on November 26, 2021. She was born on May 13, 1927, to the late Ray and Virginia Jones. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Joe Fuller whom she had married July 6, 1946; and by four brothers, Victor, Carl, Jerry and Leland.
She is survived by her sister Glada Welch of Marietta, Ohio. She was a loving mother of daughter Karen Stone of St. Petersburg, Florida; sons Robert Fuller (Laura) of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Greg Fuller of Athalia, Ohio, and Jeffrey Fuller of Whitehall, Ohio; proud grandmother, "Nanny," of Kathrine Barlow, Athalia, Ohio, Micah Stone of Hollywood, FL, Christopher Fuller of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Brigette Lightell (Todd) of Dublin, Ohio, Robert Carpenter (Tami) of Gahanna, Ohio, Scott Fuller of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Tyrone Fuller of Gahanna, Ohio, Melissa Fuller of Chesapeake, Ohio; and Zachary Fuller of Whitehall, Ohio. She was also a great grandmother to twelve children and great great-grandmother to five children.
Norma was an artist, a lover of classical music, the ballet, and opera. When her children were small, she would play "Flight of the Bumblebee" by Rimsky Korsakov and "buzz" around the house with them pretending to be bumblebees. She loved woodworking and using power saws and hammers. She and Joe built three homes. She enjoyed drywalling, measuring, mitering, and installing. When she and Joe moved to the home they built in Athalia, Ohio, she began her efforts to save the riverbank. She worked tirelessly hauling and dumping rocks and mixing and pouring concrete from her mortar mixer. She loved the Ohio River. From her second floor bedroom, she viewed the river every day for many years until climbing the stairs became difficult and she moved to the bedroom on the first floor.
Very importantly, she was a quiet civil rights activist. She didn't attend political rallies or protests or march with signs. Her guest opinion, "Blacks and the Revolution," was published in the Herald dispatch in 1974. She searched for Black history at a time when it was difficult to find and she shared the information with family, friends, and strangers. In the 1950s she created flyers about black history and placed them in the "whites only" restrooms in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. When the family stopped for fuel, she took her children to the dirty water fountain to drink. When the white proprietor rushed out to inform her that, "No, no, ma'am, you drink over here" pointing to the clean fountain with the sign overhead, "Whites only," She firmly replied, "We'll drink here" and they did.
To paraphrase great granddaughter Kiersten Paige, being loved by Nanny was more than anyone could ever deserve in this lifetime. We will be forever missing her. She took a huge piece out of our hearts. We will be forever grateful that our babies knew her love. She poured so much love into us. Our cups will be forever full. We know how long she had been missing Joe and GG. Rest In Peace, Nanny??. We loved you so much. ??Visitation will begin at 1:00 P.M. Saturday, December 11, 2021, followed by the service at 2:00 at Hall Funeral Home and Crematory, Proctorville, OH. Condolences may be expressed to the family at ehallfuneralhome.com. Wearing of masks is encouraged.
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