This is my Grandmother. I wanted to honor her on my website. She was a wonderful Grandmother and a fantastic human being. I love her and will remember her with fondness in my heart. I want to thank My Aunt Judy and Uncle Paul for taking such wonderful care of her all these years. I am sorry for your great loss. I want to let my cousins, Paul Jr., Tina, Jody, Holly and Patrick, that I too am sorry for the loss they are feeling.
To my Dad, Ray Sr., Uncle Al, Uncle Donald, Uncle Bobby and Uncle Johnny, I send out my deepest condolences for the passing of your wonderful mother. And last, but certainly not least to my one and only older sister, Cyndie. I am sorry for your personll loss of Grammy, I know how much she meant to you. I love you, as well as all of my family.
Grammy, may god take you in his arms and may you rest forever in peace.
With eternal love,
Your Grandson,
Raymond (Ray Ray) Leo Normandin, Jr.
Ethel M. McDougall
Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother and Great Great Grandmother
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| Born: October 16, 1913 |
| Died: May 22, 2008 |
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Ethel M. (Norman) McDougall, age 94, widow of Ledger Normandin and Joseph J. McDougall, died unexpectedly at her Dracut residence on Thursday May 22, 2008.
She was born in Windsor Locks, CT, on October 16, 1913, a daughter of the late Joseph and Mabel (McCoy) Norman.
Ethel was a longtime resident of the Centralville section of Lowell prior to moving to Dracut eight years ago.
In earlier years she worked at the Boot Mills as a stitcher, and as an inspector for the Raytheon Corp., retiring from Jean Allen Fabrics as a stitcher.
While residing in Lowell Ethel was a communicant of St. Casmir Church, attending daily mass and volunteering at their Bingo. She since has been a communicant of St. Marguerite D’Youville Parish since moving to Dracut. She was a former member of the East End Club Ladies Auxillary.
Ethel loved to dance. She was a devoted grandmother and great grandmother who cherished time with her family. Ethel will be remembered as a fun loving caring, devoted family member and friend.
Survivors include a daughter and son in law, Judith and Paul Plourde, Sr. of Dracut with whom she resided; five sons and three daughters in law, Albert Normandin, Raymond Normandin, both of Garden Grove, CA, John and Josephine McDougall, Donald and Carol McDougall all of Methuen, Robert and Georgette McDougall of Lowell; seven grandchildren, Raymond Normandin, Jr., Cynthia Normandin, Paul Plourde, Jr., Tina Nickles, Jodie Plourde, Holly Drummond, Patrick McDougall; nineteen great grandchildren; four great great grandchildren; a dear friend James Hildreth of Lowell; and several nieces and nephews. She was also the sister of the late Raymond, Nelson, Joseph, and Louis Norman, Helen Purcell, her twin sister Lillian Stemer, Rose and William Bruno. |
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Hi,
I wanted to take the time to welcome you to my personal website. I thought long and hard about why I wanted to have a web address with my name on it. I thought that people would think that I am a egomaniac or self serving. The truth of the matter is the exact opposite. I feel that in our society today there is too little contact with our neighbors, friends and even families.
I personally want to open my life up to those who are interested in what I believe in or what I have to say. This is meant to be fun, entertaining and informative. I have no political agenda and everything I put on this sight is my own opinions or interests. For most of my life I was a fence walker. I never really had an opinion about much, but as I have gotten older that has changed. I feel it is my right and my obligation to express my feelings on a myriad of subjects. That is what you will get from this website. Take it or leave it, it is all up to you individually. I will express my true feelings, good or bad and whether I get any approval or not. So I welcome you to this place and I hope you leave with something positive.
Thanks for coming and revisit often for I will be adding new things all the time. I will also be adding photos, videos, articles and excerpts from screenplays I have written or been a part of writing.
Warm regards,
Ray Normandin
“Just mention the name Chuck Norris and her face lights up…”
The expression, “Dynamite comes in small packages” is fitting when talking about 12 year old Danielle Sherrick; “Dannie” to all her friends is from Lexington, Ohio. This 85 pound 4 foot 10 inch young lady has accumulated an impressive array of Martial Art accomplishments. Dannie has mastered over 300 techniques in earning a 1st degree black belt (Shodan) in Kenpo Karate, a red belt in Tae kwon Do, and a Kung Fu Black Belt and she studies weapons.
Already having 35 national trophies and 15 gold medals, Dannie added one more by winning the Grand Championship for her Kung Fu at the Arnold Classic in Columbus Ohio in March. Dannie credits WorldBlackBelt Founder Member and Kung Fu Master, Eric Lee ericlee@worldblackbelt.com for her success in winning the tournament. “Master Lee would send me training videos”, Dannie, said, “I would learn them, and when we would see each other at a seminar or tournament, I would show him what I learned and he would work with me till I got it just right”. Dannie’s interest in Martial Arts started at age four. She said, “I remember seeing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and decided I wanted to do what they were doing, weapons and all.” Today Dannie is efficient in the Broadsword, Spear, Staff and Nunchuckas.
The highlight of Dannie’s life came two years ago while attending the Seminar Sensations in Chicago, a program presented by Martial Arts legend and WorldBlackBelt’s first founding member, Chuck Norris. The program was to help support Mr. Norris’ “Kick Drugs out of America” chucknorris@worldblackbelt.com. Her mother Kathy, father Jack and younger sister Miranda accompanied her. Kathy said, “Just mention the name Chuck Norris to Dannie and her face lights up and her cheeks blush” she continued, “I knew how important it was to my daughter, so we had to meet him. With the help of WWF, NOW, and WCW Manager Dan Magus, a meeting with Chuck Norris was set up. Dannie’s dream was about to come true; she was taken back stage and was the only youngster who was able to meet Mr. Norris. The picture of them taken that day remains one of Dannie’s most cherished possessions along with a kiss on the cheek from “Mr. Norris”. One other possession that is dear to her heart is a green belt that belonged to the late J.T. Will that he personally gave her and she keeps it in a special display case.
In many ways, outside the Dojo, Dannie is like most typical 12 year olds who enjoy riding her bike, swimming and playing with her friends. However this amazing girl is also an honor roll student at Lexington Intermediate School, an aspiring actress and she hopes to be in the Olympics. Dannie is devoted to helping others and if she decided against an acting career than she would like to be a police officer, and she is currently raising money for The American Cancer Society. Dannie has also created a ten minute training video that teaches children to stay safe. This video is for sale on Dannie’s website and all profits from the video sales go to FUMA (Federation of United Martial Artists) a children’s charity organization that was founded by Karate International magazine publisher and Martial Artist Michael DePasquale. Her family thanks their community for being there for them. “They have made it possible for Dannie to attend all the events she has and allows her to fulfill her dreams” said Dannie’s father Jack. “My daughter stays focused and does things correctly” he added. “She is very polite, and everything she does is at the best of her ability”.
Dannie finds great pleasure in performing her martial arts skills for her classmates, local nursing homes and at the Fairfield County Fair, she also is a Certified Licensed Kenpo Karate instructor and currently teaches her first student.
On Friday, April 13th, 2001, my life changed forever. It was a normal day; however it was ironic that it was ‘Good Friday’ as well as ‘Friday the 13th’”. The following is a true account of that horrific day. ”
Ray
Am I going to die today? That was the thought running through my mind, it kept repeating like an old skipping 45 record, over and over again. The Uzi semi-automatic machine gun was three feet away and pointed at my head. The clip was hanging there as if to say, “I’m holding the key to your living or dying”. Your mind goes through strange thoughts whenever you are in a situation of extreme duress. Looking at the Uzi, I couldn’t help wondering if it was loaded or not. I could only assume it was.
With my hands in the air, at the assailant’s request, I was thinking, “Can this really be happening, is this guy for real?” I am in the middle of a real life bank robbery. At that moment, I wished that I, along with everyone in the bank were invisible. (more…)
Original article here.
A few years ago 54 year old Trudy Carroll’s doctor told her, that she had to quit Martial Arts because of a severe back injury. Today Trudy is the reigning Colorado State Sparring Champion in the 39 and older class. “Trudy pushes herself harder than any other student in our school. I’ve seen her exercise with tears streaming down her cheeks and never even say a word,” said her instructor Master Don Bendell.
It was WorldBlackBelt’s First Founding Member Chuck Norris who inspired Trudy to return to her passion for the Martial Arts after a twenty-year absence. According to Trudy, “if he can do Martial Arts at his age, being older than me, I’m going to try it.” “When I first tried the Martial Arts I was a 30-year-old single mother of two and the lack of time and money made it too difficult, but I never lost interest and I promised myself that one day I would return.”
(more…)
Original article here.
I am sure that anyone who has ever been to a Memorial service would rather be elsewhere. The thought of having to say a final goodbye to someone we love and care for is the last thing we want to be doing. Anyone who knew Howard Jackson, could not help being touched in some way, no matter how small. Be it his angelic smile, his warm handshake, his soft and unassuming voice or even the person he transformed into when entering a mat or ring. No doubt he was a world champion fighter, “The California Flash”, but that was business. The rest was Howard the Father, son, brother, teacher, and the friend. I have often heard the measure of a person’s life is the legacy they leave behind, in other words what did people truly think of them and how were their lives touched by that person. (more…)
