Judy Murray Norris
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Judy Murray Norris - June 15, 1942 - February 19, 2024 - 81 years old
Husband: Pete Norris
Daughters: Pam (Brad) Stevens and Beth (Rob) Johnson
Grandchildren: Will (Lacey) Stevens, Brianne (Casey) McWilliams, Brantley (Megan) Stevens, Annsley Johnson, Bobby Johnson
Great Grandchildren: Vallory, Colton, Turner, and Riley McWilliams and Mira and Kieran Stevens
Brother: Billy Cross
Sister: Patti (Julian) Thigpen
Sisters-in-law: Annelle Norris and Marvye Norris Woods
Order:
Prelude - 10:45 am - Kim Hice
Processional - 11:00 am - Kim Hice
Welcome - Scripture - Prayer - Randy Darnell
How Great Thou Art - Matthew Pittman
Memories of Nana - Brianne Mc Williams
Sheltered in the Arms of God - Matthew Pittman
Eulogy - Randy Darnell
He Keeps Me Singing - 1st, 4th and 5th verses - Congregational
Closing Prayer - Randy
Postlude - Kim Hice
I would like to welcome you to the Celebration of Mrs. Judy Murray Norris’ life.
On behalf of the family, I’d like to thank each of you for taking the time to express your love for them
And for this grace filled lady who has gone ahead of us to meet Jesus.
My family and I came to First Baptist 19 years ago.
Sitting in the choir was a lady who bore a striking resemblance to my mom who also sang in our choir back at my home church.
When I got to meet Judy, I mentioned that to her and we instantly had a very special bond.
It was only later I realized that Judy had a very special bond with a whole lot of people.
It was just who Judy was.
Judy belonged to Jesus and there are three passages of scripture we need to read.
The first was placed in your worship guide by her family.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
We’ll talk a little about that later.
The second scripture was picked by her friends.
It seems the Janelle Bridges, Vicki Cobb and Judy picked out scripture for their friends, but the family could not remember what they had picked out for Judy.
They thought it was Isaiah, that was Judy’s favorite book, but they weren’t sure.
So I touched base with Sherri Rollins, Ms. Janelle’s daughter and she reached out to Ms. Vicki
And Sherri and Ms. Vicki narrowed it down to these three verses
Three verses - keep in mind - that were picked out by her closest friends.
Sing unto the Lord a new song, And his praise from the end of the earth, Ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; The isles, and the inhabitants thereof.
Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, The villages that Kedar doth inhabit: Let the inhabitants of the rock sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains.
Let them give glory unto the Lord, And declare his praise in the islands.
Sounds like Judy, doesn’t it.
They chose well.
And finally, I picked the last verse.
Judy’s family described her this way and every last one of us knew her this way:
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Jesus delivered on that promise Monday morning.
Let us pray:
Sovereign God,
You could have stopped Judy’s suffering but you didn’t.
You allowed Parkinson's to enter her life and you let it have its way with her.
We watched her as she slowed down
As she stopped being able to do the things she loved to do.
Finally she slowed down and stopped.
We absolutely know that Isaiah 55:8 is true when it says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.”
We know full well it is true.
But Lord, I wonder if you allowed Judy to continue with that disease so she could teach us something.
Lord, you called her to suffer with such dignity and grace.
You allowed her to minister to us with her warm heart and caring smile even as her body slowed and slowed and slowed.
Even as she lay dying, Lord, it was a testimony to you, that she took her last breaths with such peace.
We pray Father, when our time comes that our passing would be such a testimony to your peace and goodness and mercy and grace.
You blessed us with Judy in life
And you blessed us with Judy in death.
And we know, that through it all, you blessed Judy with You.
Truly, Judy was a child of her Father.
And we thank you.
May you be praised in this hour as we remember our sister,
In Jesus’ name, Amen
“How Great Thou Art” - Matthew Pittman
Memories of Nana - Brianne McWilliams
“Sheltered in the Arms of God” - Matthew Pittman
I have been the Pastor at over at least 200 funerals in my day - but Judy’s is a first for me.
I’ve waded into family arguments, I’ve sat in a room trying to pull information out of stone faced families.
I’ve had a few write me a page or two of notes or give me important clippings or they let me take a glance at their Bible.
I’ve never had someone write the funeral.
Well, Pam didn’t actually write the funeral but she did write some very extensive notes.
9 handwritten pages of notes.
And the crazy thing is, she didn’t scratch the surface of Judy’s life.
So, with Pam as the announcer and me as the color commentator, let us tell you about Judy.
Judy was born on Thursday, June the 25th, 1942.
World War II was in full swing and her father was in the navy, stationed at Panama City, Florida.
And eventually they ended up in Kite.
Just for the record, Kite was named for Judy’s mother Dorothy’s family.
They were Kights - K-I-G-H-T’s so the town was named KIGHT.
But it seems the Post Office had trouble with the spelling - so the town name became KITE - Kite.
And now you know.
Anyway, making assumptions is dangerous and I made a big one with Judy that got me laughed at.
Since Judy was from Kite, I assumed she was a country girl - Kite is sho’ nuff’ country, right?
But not so.
Judy’s dad was a journeyman heavy machinery mechanic - machines like inside factories.
And he was an excellent carpenter.
After his stent in the Navy, the Murray family moved all over the place - mostly to big cities because that’s where the work was.
They lived in Savannah, in Atlanta.
It was in Atlanta that we know Judy trusted Jesus and was baptized but we don’t know at what Church that happened.
But because of her mama Dorothy’s Kite connection, they ended up in Kite in time for Judy’s high school years.
I’ll let Pam tell the story about when Judy got to Kite High School.
“Pete always teased Judy about her first day at Kite High School.
“She wandered the halls looking for her locker.
“Peter told her, “Nobody ever heard of lockers in Kite.”
I guess that’s about when Judy realized she wasn’t in Kansas anymore.
It was in Kite that Judy met William Norris who everyone knew as Pete.
Here’s Pam again and this is delicious, “They met on a double date - but not as each other’s date.”
“They spent the evening with their respective dates but were only interested in each other.”
“When the date ended, they went to Judy’s house to drop her off.”
Sly Pete - I added the word sly - “[Sly] Pete opened the car door to let Judy out.
“He held up 5 fingers and whispered, “I’ll be back in 5 minutes.”
And he did come back - “and they’ve been together ever since except for two nights Pete went on a business trip to Chicago in the 80’s.”
Isn’t that a cool story?
62 years they were married - making a home and a family.
Pam said, “They were a team dedicated to making a loving family and a meaningful life together.
“Judy had her “girls,” Pam and Beth that she loved with all of her heart,
“But even they could not compete with her boys, Brad and Rob.
“It was a running joke that if either of the couples ever divorced, Judy planned to sit on the boy’s side of the courtroom.”
“She was the best, kindest mother to her four children and the very dearest friend to her daughters.”
“Judy and Pete were blessed with five grandchildren, Will, Brianne - named for Judy Ann - Brantley, Annsley - named for Judy Ann - and Bobby.
“It was Judy’s mission to be an example of love, fun and sometimes to the dismay of her grandchildren, and example of hard work.
“Judy had the grandchildren doing house painting and yard work before they could form whole sentences.
“Judy was involved in every aspect of her grandchildren’s lives and was very proud of their accomplishments and the families they made.
She was particularly thankful to be a great grandmother to Vallory, Colton, Mira (Mee-ra), Turner, Kieron and Riley
And proud to be Nana to her in-law grandchildren Lacey, Casey and Megan.
Now all of that was properly and proudly seen through a loving and devoted daughters eyes.
Pam and Beth are doing exactly what I coach families to do - celebrate the good and forget the not so good.
Not to infer that there were bad things there - I don’t know.
But I do know that Judy had life - that included raised two girls through their teenage years.
I’m sure there was boy drama and teenage angst and I might be wrong but I think from the gleam I see in Pam and Beth’s eyes there could have been some mischief.
If I’m wrong, forgive me, but....
And I know there was some sickness - and the final sickness
But what made cemented all of that into a marvelously wonderful memory of their mama was what I believe Judy’s life philosophy was based on.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
What made Judy Judy was her faith.
Judy had a deep, abiding faith in the Lord that translated into a life that knew that Jesus was going to do for her what He promised.
That amid any trial, hardship or pain she might have, she knew, Judy KNEW that Jesus plan for her life was good.
And she looked for the good and she lived for the good.
Pam said “If there was a quote that summed up Judy, it would be ‘bloom where you are planted.’”
Brothers and sisters let me share something with you.
You can’t bloom if you are dead.
And Judy wasn’t dead - she was alive in Christ Jesus so she lived this life to it’s absolute fullest.
Other than being an abject failure at swimming - the only thing she mastered in the swimming pool was sinking like a rock.
Judy successfully tried her hands as all kinds of things.
She took Tennis and tole painting - yes, that’s a thing - google it like I did.
She took ceramics and sign language.
Violin and guitar and dulcimer.
She crocheted, quilted and - gasp - belly danced.
And she square danced.
Somehow they ended up square dancing for Jimmy Carter’s inauguration.
It was on Thursday, January 20th, 1977.
The low that day in Washington, DC was 20.
It reached a high of 33 degrees at about 3 pm.
And they square danced in their square dance outfits.
You’ve seen what I’m talking about.
They couldn’t get back to Georgia soon enough.
Pam mentioned all of the organizations that Judy belonged to and how she worked for Davis Accounting for 40 years.
And there was just so much - but what interested me the most was her life at Gray Baptist.
Judy and Pete’s life revolved around this place.
They were members of the Sara B Sunday School class for 55 years.
Like I said, my first notice of Judy was when she sang in the choir.
She sang for over 25 years in the choir but I don’t suspect she ever quit singing.
She loved music.
She loved the Christmas musicals the best.
Judy loved to worship Jesus in song.
That’s the reason for Isaiah 42:10-12
Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants.
Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the habitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the top of the mountains.
Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare his praise in the coastlands.
You can hear Judy in that, right?
I could make a list of the things they did here - but all that would capture is their busy-ness.
It wouldn’t capture their heart and Gray Baptist was where their hearts found their happiness.
I mourn for people who “forsake the assembling” of themselves together as the Bible puts it.
Jesus lived in Judy’s heart for sure.
And Judy loved Jesus’ house and Jesus’ people.
First Baptist is where her friends were.
Al and Janelle Bridges, Kenneth and Vicki Cobb, Clark and Marilyn Sauls, Charlie and Gloria Mayhue, Stanley and Mary Jo Jones.
Sandra and Marvin Hammack and Jack and Arnnie?? Jo Rhoades
Never have I seen a group of people with a bond as close as theirs.
They traveled together and I mean traveled.
Not only to Panama City Beach or the Blue Ridge Mountains - but internationally.
I’ve lived in small towns almost all of my life and so many rural folk are happy as they can be living in their zip code.
But not this crew.
They covered Mexico and the Caribbean.
Italy, England, Switzerland, Denmark, Canada, Israel
49 of the 50 United States - they can’t agree if they missed North or South Dakota
Which makes me wonder if they did hit all 50.
Mary Jo Jones told me a story this week that of course I’d find interesting because it’s about food.
Janelle, Marilyn, Judy and Mary Jo had lunch together regularly.
I don’t know it was Janelle that purchased the Subway 12” sub sandwich, but it makes sense.
Because, as Mary Jo explained it, Janelle and Marilyn were small women and didn’t eat much.
“But Judy and I, we were healthy eaters” she said.
They would get the 12 inch sandwich and cut it into 4 pieces.
And each would get a 3” sub.
Mary Jo and Judy never complained, but they did have a deal.
As soon as lunch was over, one would ask the other, where are we going to get some food.
And often then ended up at the Sonic getting a Banana Split or something to fill them up.
I told Mary Jo and Stanley, and Pete and his family that I was jealous of their friendship.
They made wonderful memories for themselves and their families.
And they served as an inspiration for us.
I always ask the family to give me a word to summarize their mother - and this family’s word was pure.
They never heard Judy say a curse word.
Judy never read a risque book or watched a R rated movie.
Her desire was to be like Jesus.
1 Peter 1:13-16 says
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Judy wanted to be holy.
It was her heart.
Which brings us to the last scripture: Matthew 5:8 ““Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
As sweet and loving and kind as Judy was - Judy realized she was a rebel.
All have sinned the Bible says and Judy falls right into that category of all.
And as much as we look at Judy and go - no...
Yes, Judy Murray Norris was a sinner but one day in Atlanta, Georgia of all places.
The Lord raised Judy’s dead spirit to new life.
He showed her His great love for her and she fell in love with Jesus.
She asked the Father to forgive her of her sins and she promised to do her best to follow Jesus all the rest of her days.
And if we got a vote, we would vote that Judy did a much better job of following Jesus than we have.
But of course, we don’t get a vote.
Nothing any of us thinks really matters in the grand scheme of eternity.
All that matters is what the Father thinks.
And in Judy’s case we know what He thinks.
Romans 10:9 says:
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Judy confessed with her mouth that Jesus is Lord
And she believed in her heart that God raised him from the dead.
So yes, Judy has been saved.
As she is waiting for us to get there.
Please make sure that you are ready like Judy was. (DO NOT PRAY)
He Keeps Me Singing - Congregation
Let’s pray:
Gentle Jesus,
To you whose touch can be firm like a Father’s when we disobey
And gentle like a mother’s when we fall and skin our knees.
To you who spoke light and darkness into being
As well as fingernails and puppies and Easter Eggs.
To you who fills our hearts with fear at your unfathomable power
And yet, stills our hurting hearts and calls us to curl up in your lap like scared child.
To you we give thanks and honor and power and glory.
For giving us our sister.
For sanctifying her well.
And for calling her home so we don’t have to mourn her loss.
We simply wait now for your appearing.
Bless you Lord Jesus, we pray.
Amen