The history of the Norman Family Cemetery is a rich one.  A plotted Timeline of the known birth and death dates shows how many of our loved ones were alive for various major events in U.S. and World History.  Below is an account of the Cemetery history as written by Bernard Lynn Norman in July 2017:

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"C.D. Norman was my great-grandfather and he started the Norman Family Cemetery long before he wrote his Will in 1880.  In fact, his Will is the only documentation we have which verifies that the half-acre of ground is designated as ‘our grave yard below the road.’  He started burying his children there who died while he was alive, and his Will states, ‘I want you to Bury me nice and my wife also in our grave yard Be Low the road.’

 

"Over the years, the Cemetery was not managed to C.D.’s wishes; there are several graves of people who are not Norman family members.  My father, Bryan Elias Norman, began taking care of the Cemetery in 1954.  It was so grown up with sumac trees and lilies you could not walk through it.  In the right-hand rear part of the grounds there were no graves because you could not even get into that area.  Dad vowed that, as long as he was alive, the Cemetery would be properly cared for, and from that time on that has been the case.  In 1964, when I returned from military duty and settled in the Chub Run area, I began to help Dad with the mowing.  He also taught me how to handle things when someone was to be buried in the Cemetery.  Before he passed away in 1967, Dad asked me to take on the responsibility of looking after the Cemetery because he wanted to know that it would be taken care of.  I promised him that I would do that.

"In 1968, I was called by my aunt Willa ‘Bill’ Loser, Dad’s youngest sister, to come together with several of my aunts, uncles and cousins for a meeting on the Cemetery.  It was decided then that I would become the ‘unofficial’ caretaker and, from that time on, only Norman family members would be buried there.  I took care of the Cemetery by mowing and enlisting my three kids and wife as helpers.  Other family members, including my nieces and nephews, have also helped with bigger projects like fence painting and tree trimming.  In fact, when I was building my house in 1973, my nephew Jim Maltba and his dad Ralph took over the summer maintenance since I was so busy.  It’s been quite a task for the past 40 years, but I am glad I did it because it instilled in my kids the sense of responsibility to take care of our heritage.  Over the years, I have sent out letters to family members of those buried in the Cemetery asking for donations to fund the perpetual care of the Cemetery.  This goes on today as it is critical for proper maintenance of the grounds the way my Dad wanted.

"In 1997, my sister-in-law, Phyllis Carol Norman, passed away and was laid to rest in the Cemetery.  Her husband and my brother, James A. ‘Butch’ Norman, wanted to make certain that the Cemetery would be cared for long after our generation is gone.  He donated money from an insurance policy of hers and, through the help of an attorney, formally incorporated the Cemetery as a tax-exempt non-profit organization.  Today, the Norman Family Cemetery Association actively works to maintain and beautify the grounds to keep it a peaceful resting place for our family members in perpetuity."

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