Norma Lea Artman

 Birth:  Nov. 10, 1924 Hinton Summers County West Virginia, USA  Death:  Jun. 19, 2001 Milford New Haven County Connecticut, USA 

Norma Lea Morgan was born to Maude Eteline Honaker Morgan and Kyle Eugene Morgan.

She grew up in Ronceverte, West Virginia. Norma and her sister, Kathleen Morgan, moved to Connecticut during WWII to find work. They both got jobs at Bridgeport Brass making munitions for the war effort. They stayed in a rooming house on North Ave in Bridgeport. Norma and Kathleen (sisters) remained close friends for the remainder of their lives.

It was during that time that she met Ernest "Ernie" Artman. She met Ernie about 1942 at a cafe called "Donald Duck" on Villa Ave in Fairfield. She was sitting with her sister Kat. Ernest grabbed a chair and sat saddle style and asked her, "Do ya wanna dance?" That was the start of fifty-three wonderful years together.

Within a few months after meeting Ernie, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and was sent to the Philippines in the midst of WWII. While there, his entire unit was wiped out except for him.

He proposed to Norma while he was in the Philippines. He bought a ring and recorded his proposal on a 45 record and sent them to Norma who was ecstatic and accepted. They were married shortly after he returned from war. Norma's Baptist family happily accepted Ernie, although he was Lutheran. He was eventually baptized into the Baptist Church in the 1970's.

Ernie and Norma lived in the family house where he was born. Their first child, William Ernest Artman, was born in Bridgeport Hospital on November 1, 1948. They had a stillborn child named Rick Artman before they moved in 1962 to Pepperidge Circle while Norma was pregnant with daughter Karen. She was born in February 1962.

Norma was an active member of Trinity Baptist Church, Fairfield, Connecticut. She was a homemaker and raised William and Karen in a loving Christian atmosphere.

After Ernest died in 1996 Norma moved with her daughter Karen and husband K.C. to Milford and resided there until her death. She'd had knee replacement surgery in 1995. The ligaments in her knee needed attention and she had surgery again. The blood thinner that the surgeon prescribed, Cumidin, caused a brain hemorrhage that ended her life June of 2001. She is missed very much by her grandson, Bill, who wrote this biography.

-William Artman Mehlhouse

• Norma's sister Kathleen Morgan,

Family links:

Parents:

 Kyle Estil Morgan (1895 - 1974)

 Maud Eteline Honaker Morgan (1898 - 1940)

Spouse:

 Ernest William Artman (1925 - 1996)*

Children:

 William Ernest Artman (1948 - 1968)*

 Rick Artman (1950 - 1950)*

• Calculated relationship

Burial: Maple Grove Memorial Park Easton Fairfield County Connecticut, USA