Donna Marie Normand, 77, of Springvale, passed away peacefully Wednesday, September 1, 2021 following a long illness. She was born on April 23, 1944 in the Bronx, New York, the daughter of Joseph and Amelia Valentino.

She graduated from Cathedral High School in 1961, attended Bronx Community College in 1962, and Drake Business School in 1963. She was a secretary to the Advertising Credit Manager for Hearst Magazines in New York from 1963 to 1969; a secretary to the law firm Vincent Cerow and Company in New York from 1969 to 1974; and a secretary for the Capital Campaign at Nasson College in Springvale from 1976 to 1978.

She enjoyed crocheting, knitting, and ceramics and was quite skilled at each of these. She took after her father and spent lots of time in the kitchen cooking and baking. She greatly enjoyed family gathering and cooking large holiday meals. Her passions included reading, letter writing, and collecting postcards. Her passion for letter writing would lead her to finding her future husband, a pen pal stationed in Vietnam.

On November 28, 1970, she married her pen pal and the love of her life Clement Normand at St. Brendan’s Church in the Bronx, New York. They lived in the Bronx from 1970 until 1974, and then moved to Springvale where they had their first and only house built in 1974.

They had one daughter, who was the central part of her life. She became a stay-at-home mom to raise her daughter, then got several cafeteria jobs in the Sanford, Maine school system for the accommodating hours and to watch her daughter grow. Anyone that knew her knew of her selfless devotion to others. She always put the needs of others before her own.

She was a member of the Pleasant Street Free Baptist Church in Springvale for many years, and even when she was no longer able to attend, always expressed her devotion to God and her love for the 23rd Psalm and Prayer of St Francis.

She was predeceased by her parents, her husband in 2007, and her aunt Adeline DeMario Maiori. She is survived by one daughter, Suzanne Normand of Steep Falls, ME; a sister Maureen Valentino of Sanford, ME; two brothers Vincent Valentino of Sanford, ME, and Albert Valentino of Delaware Water Gap, PA; and a cousin Julie Maiori of Honolulu, HI.

Visiting hours will be on Tuesday  from 6 to 8 pm. at the Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home 580 Main Street in Springvale, where a funeral service will be held on Wednesday at 10 am. Burial will follow at Oakdale Cemetery in Sanford.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made in her memory to the Samaritan’s Purse Children’s Heart Project online at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/ or by mail to Samaritan’s Purse, PO Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607.

Condolences may be expressed at www.blackfuneralhomes.com