Normagene E. Gavin of Mill Creek, WA, died November 9, 2020 at age 95. She was born August 14, 1925 in Formoso, Kansas, the only daughter of Wilfred and Esta Balch. She had four older brothers. She graduated from Formoso High School in 1943 and attended one year at the University of Nebraska. During the time there, she played snare drums in the University Marching Band. She then moved to the Yakima Valley in Washington State to join her parents. Her intention was to continue her college education at The Ohio State University while living with a cousin in Columbus, Ohio. On her way to Columbus, she stopped over in Chicago, Illinois to see her fiancé James E. Gavin who was attending Navy Officers School. After some serious discussions, they decided to wait until the war was over before getting married so she continued on to Columbus where some very serious discussions continued about marriage plans. It was resolved that they would go ahead with the marriage when he graduated from Officers School. She went to Chicago and attended the Officers School graduation ceremonies at 4:00 pm on January 18, 1945. That evening at 8:00 p.m. she married her high school sweetheart. They had their “honeymoon” in Yorktown, VA where her husband attended the Navy Mine Warfare School. Upon his graduation, they flew to San Francisco, CA to await orders for a transport ship to take him overseas. The day came, he shipped out and she returned to the Yakima Valley to stay with her parents. After WWII ended, Jim returned to the U.S. in April of 1946. She met her husband in Seattle and they returned together to the Yakima, WA area. They farmed for a short time and then moved to Seattle on January 1, 1948 in order for Jim to complete his degree at the University of Washington in 1950. For a short time, Normagene attended the Cornish School of Music to continue her piano education. However, she had to discontinue the schooling in order to get a job and help support the family after their daughter, Deanna, was born in 1953. They later moved to Edmonds from Seattle in 1961. Normagene worked as a financial aid assistant at Shoreline Community College for many years. She was an active member of the Edmonds Methodist Church where she attended Bible Study and was active in the United Methodist Women’s Group. She did volunteer work for Junior Achievement and the Washington State Chapter of the National Neurofibromatosis Foundation. Normagene is survived by her daughter, Deanna J. Miyamoto, Deanna’s husband Robert and two granddaughters, Tamra and Leah Miyamoto. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers Max, Don, Newell, and “Bud” Balch. Memorial gifts in lieu of flowers may be sent to the Edmonds United Methodist Church. With the ongoing COVID pandemic, a celebration of her life will be held in the future.