A small framed award dated 1956 marks the start of the career of one of the Roanoke areas most influential female journalists.
"She spans the entire life of this magazine. She is irreplaceable," said Leisure Publishing owner Richard Wells. Norma passed away Tuesday from complications from brain cancer. She was 75.
35 years ago, she impressed the socks off Wells, and he hired her to write for the Roanoker.
"She is beloved in this community and a part of that was because of the approach she took to her journalism," said Wells.
Her passion for journalism is evident in the close to 200 awards she won over decades of work that included writing for the Roanoke Times and World News.
When she passed she was Editor of Leisure Mountain Homes magazine. Wells and Lugar formed a strong partnership, launching a marketing firm together in the 1980's. He says when news came of her death, the company was devastated.
"She was a mother and big sister and mentor. The young people on staff looked up to her."
Norma grew up in Salem and Wells says she fell in love with everyone she met and everything she wrote about here. "She found the good in people and I think that came through."
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