Norma was born in Chicago, Ill. to Harry Marsh and Ottolene Bowes. She was the first of Ottolene’s two children. After her father’s death in 1930, Norma was raised by her Canadian grandmother, Belle Bowes, for four years on Manitoulin Island, Canada. Norma returned to her mother in 1934, after Ottolene married Roland Howard. Norma’s sister, Marian, joined the family, born in 1938. On Aug. 17, 1947, Norma married Robert (Bob) Gibson Smith in Chicago, Ill.…
