Norma Harrison

Norma Ann Bueche Harrison

Our beloved Norma passed into God’s loving arms on Sunday, December 20.  Just before Thanksgiving, Norma was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lung cancer, even as a non-smoker.  She fought valiantly with radiation and was just days away from starting chemotherapy when she suffered a cardiac arrest, from which she never recovered.  She was just 74.

Norma was born on September 7, 1946 to Joseph (Biddie) and Beverly Bueche.  She grew up on Jackson Avenue in Baton Rouge and in Port Hudson, her family homestead since 1883.  In 2006 she married Dex (Dr. Marshall Dexter Harrison, Jr.) who was the love of her life.

Her best friends were her siblings and their spouses---Jimmie (Patsy), Sharon (Dave), Brian (Robin), Kim, Brent (Mimi).  While Norma had no children of her own, she leaves behind many nieces and nephews that she loved, adored, and treated like her own.

Norma liked to say she was “Social,” which was a great understatement.  She collected people and loved everyone she met.  She was a passionate storyteller and wove people into her life like a fine fabric.  Some of her favorite collections of people were her neighbors on Manchac Landing Court, her classmates from St. Anthony High School, her posse at AA, her girlfriends in her Spinners Supper Club, her friends at the Woman’s Fitness Center, the dental office of her employer for over 30 years, Dr. Charles Naul, and the large extended Bueche family.

Norma baked when she was happy, and she baked when she was sad.  If she knew it was your birthday or a special day, she made you a treat.  If your dad liked apple tart, she would make him one every month or so.  If you were a new acquaintance who needed a pick-me-up or a thank you, she would bake something for you.  That’s who she was.  She loved entertaining her family and friends while cooking and socializing.  She also loved working in her yard and tending her flowers, welcoming the challenge of a big mound of dirt or a pile of bricks.

In her final days Norma took comfort with her many friends and family, her caring Dex, and her beloved dogs Scout and Beignet.  When considering options for treatment, she said if Scout and Beignet weren’t going, neither was she.  She leaves behind so many friends, all special to her in their own way.

Dex wishes to thank the caregivers at Our Lady of the Lake Emergency Room and ICU, and particularly, their pulmonologist, Dr. Kevin Reed and her internist of many years, Dr. Adrian Landry, and his staff.

Norma chose for her body to be cremated and her ashes to be spread under the “Surrender Oak” at the farm in Port Hudson, mingled with the ashes of her sister, Sharon, who preceded her in death. Visitation will be from 11:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 29, at Resthaven Funeral Home, 11817 Jefferson Highway, Baton Rouge, LA, followed by a funeral mass at St. George Catholic Church at 2:00 p.m.   Her ashes will be spread at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made in her honor to Friends of the Animals Dog Adoption House, 8476 Highland Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, or to the Salvation Army.