Norma Jean Bell

Norma Jean Bell was born Norma Jean Corbin on January 6, 1936, at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, Texas, to Cleo Graham Corbin and Lucian Otis Corbin. Norma grew up in Dallas alongside her brother Gerald “Jerry” Lucian Corbin. She went on to attend Draughon’s Business College, Decatur Baptist College, and Wayland Baptist College where she received a voice scholarship for her extraordinary musical gifts. A talented pianist with a powerful, beautiful voice, she spent much of her life using those gifts to bring joy to others and to glorify the Lord. Music was only one of the many ways Norma made the world around her brighter. She was happy, fun, full of laughter and joy, and had a way of bringing a smile to the face of everyone around her. Norma dedicated her life to the Lord at a young age, and her faith remained at the center of everything she did.

In October of 1958, while working at First Baptist Church Dallas, she traveled to Roswell, New Mexico, in view of a call to serve as Youth Director at First Baptist Church Roswell, a job which she accepted. It was on that trip that she met Gordon Eugene “Gene” Bell—and it was magic. Gene drove 500 miles to Dallas the very next weekend to take Norma on a date. In November of 1958, two weeks after they first met, they were engaged. Norma and Gene were married on June 6, 1959, beginning a marriage filled with faith, laughter, devotion, family and an extraordinary love for one another. In 2026, they celebrated 67 wonderful years of marriage. Norma was an incredibly devoted wife and Gene’s constant companion throughout their life together. As Gene spent more than 55 years building his remarkable oil and gas business, Norma spent countless hours riding alongside him in the car simply to keep him company, often sewing homemade Christmas decorations as they drove. She was always by his side, supporting him, encouraging him, and making even the long hours and miles together something special.

Those Christmas decorations still make an appearance every year, small reminders of the countless miles, years, and memories Norma and Gene shared together. And speaking of Christmas, no one did Christmas quite like Norma. She was famous for her incredible Christmas parties, welcoming thousands of people from the church into their home every year. Christmas was also an extension of her ministry. She led and brought the massive “Living Christmas Tree” to life, personally designing it, decorating it and helping create something that became a treasured tradition and, most importantly to Norma, brought many people to the Lord. Norma dedicated so much of her life to her church and to serving the Lord alongside Gene. Together, they faithfully served hundreds of young people through the youth ministry, opening not only the doors of the church but also their home and their lives to them.

Norma had a special way of bringing people together—and she took that quite literally as an unofficial matchmaker. Many introductions made by Norma and Gene eventually resulted in marriages. Her love of bringing people together carried naturally into another one of her great joys: weddings. Norma helped plan, organize, decorate, and put together incredible weddings for hundreds of young couples, never charging them a penny. She simply loved marriage, loved a celebration, and loved giving young couples a beautiful beginning to their lives together.

Together, Gene and Norma welcomed two children, Melanie Kay on October 19, 1963, and Keith Wayne on March 25, 1961. She loved being a homemaker and poured herself into being a mother and creating a home filled with faith, love, laughter, loyalty and fun. During their 53 years in Roswell, they built a life centered around their family, their faith, and the many lifelong friendships they made along the way. Norma loved pouring herself into her children’s lives, from school activities to serving as a homeroom mother, and there was never any question that her family was one of the greatest joys of her life.

In 2012, Gene and Norma moved to Westlake, Texas, where Norma treasured being close to Gene, her daughter Melanie, and her granddaughter Mallory. Living just down the street from one another, they were an exceptionally close family and spent countless hours together every single day—a special gift they never took for granted. One of Norma’s greatest joys was being so actively involved in every aspect of Mallory’s life as she grew up. She loved attending her activities, celebrating her accomplishments, and cheering her on every step of the way, just as she had done so selflessly for her own children years before. Being “Grandma” gave Norma another chance to do what she had always loved most: be there for the people she loved and that loved her, through every ordinary day and every important moment.

Norma also had an enormous love for birds and her dogs. Her dogs were truly part of her family. She loved all of the wonderful dogs she had throughout her life and devoted countless hours to caring for and spoiling them. She will be deeply missed by Liberty Bell, Tinker Bell, and Marley, who could always count on Norma for plenty of love, attention, and—despite what anyone else might say—far too many people treats.

Norma lived her life according to the things she valued most: God, her marriage, and her family. She loved each of them wholeheartedly. When life tested her, Norma met those challenges with the same strength and faith with which she approached everything else. In August 2006, she was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma and given just four weeks to live. But Norma defied the odds, overcame the disease, and was declared cured the following year. Nearly two decades later, in April 2024, she broke her hip—an injury that can be especially difficult to overcome later in life. But Norma did. Her strength and determination were every bit as remarkable as the joy with which she lived her life.

To know Norma was to love her. She had an unforgettable smile that could light up a room, a joyful spirit, and an ability to make people feel loved and welcomed from the moment they met her. People did not remain strangers to Norma for long—they became friends. She made life better for the people fortunate enough to know her simply by being in it.

To her family, however, no words could ever fully capture who she was. She was a devoted wife, an extraordinary mother and grandmother, a woman of deep faith, and the heart of her family. She loved fiercely, laughed often, gave generously, and hugged like she meant it. Her family has always said that God broke the mold after He made Norma Bell.

Norma skipped home to the arms of Jesus on Monday, September 14, 2026, at the age of 90. At 95 years old, Gene considers himself extraordinarily blessed to have spent 68 beautiful years with Norma by his side—first as the young woman he fell in love with, and then as his wife, constant companion, and partner in life. She leaves behind a family and friends whose hearts are broken and who cannot imagine this world without her in it. But they find comfort in knowing that everything Norma believed so deeply throughout her life, she now sees for herself in the presence of her Lord and Savior. They know that when Norma reached Heaven’s gates, she was welcomed home with the words she spent her life preparing to hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And, surely, with a hug every bit as wonderful as the ones she gave so freely to everyone who crossed her path, and especially to those she so dearly loved.

A celebration of Norma’s life will be held on Saturday, September 19th at 1:30 p.m.at Lucas Funeral Home in Hurst, Texas. A graveside service will follow. Norma would be blessed by memorial gifts in her honor to First Baptist Church Dallas, MD Anderson Cancer Center and Alzheimer/Dementia Research.