Jane Elizabeth Boyd Norman, 74, a lifelong area resident whose smile and friendliness brought good cheer to Washington for many years, died Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, at her home with family at her side. She departed the same way she lived: with sweetness and dignity.

The family will receive friends from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. tonight at 15th Street Church of God in Washington. Graveside funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Pamlico Memorial Gardens, officiated by Rev. Sam L. Grist III. There will be a reception following the service at Asbury Methodist Church, 88 N. Asbury Church Road, Washington.

Born Nov. 3, 1937, in Pinetown, to Lawrence Lafayette Boyd Sr. and Marcia Lillian Sikes Boyd, “Janie” was the fifth of eleven children in a busy household whose surviving members remain close to this day. Janie attended Pinetown Elementary School and Bath High School before marrying Paul McCoy Norman, her lifelong partner, on July 6, 1957.  Janie loved the little stand of woods near the intersection of Cherry and Slatestone roads where she and Paul lived much of their adult lives. For years it was a favorite gathering place of extended family, and the vegetables she put up and wonderful food cooked there were prized by her family. But Janie also loved to travel. When she got the itch to be “On the Road Again,” she’d go nearly anywhere to see the sites with children, grandchildren and friends. She giggled when she dipped her toes in the Pacific, howled when her toes nearly froze in Canada, and sang along with Willie Nelson as “They All Went to Mexico” on one of her many jaunts.

Though illness slowed her in her final days, she leaves behind a suitcase full of fond memories for her many admirers. She is survived by her husband and best friend, Paul; daughter, Ellen Norman Flannery and husband Pat of Phoenix, Ariz.; son, Paul M. Norman Jr. of Dinwiddie, Va.; granddaughters, Katie, Caroline, Rachael, Erin and Hannah; and great-granddaughter, Kamaya; brothers, James R. Boyd and Kenneth Boyd; and sisters Marjorie Hagy, Gloria Franklin and Mary Lou Harris.

The family will receive friends from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. tonight at 15th Street Church of God in Washington. Graveside funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Pamlico Memorial Gardens, followed by a reception at Asbury Methodist Church, 88 N. Asbury Church Road, Washington.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Community Home Care and Hospice c/o 814 Washington Plaza, Washington, NC 27889.

You may share a memory with the family by visiting www.pamlicofuneralservices.com.

Pamlico Funeral and Cremation Service of Washington is serving the Norman family.