RAPID CITY- Norma Lee Gwinn, 84, died Thursday, May 22, 2014, at home with her husband and a son by her side. She was born Dec. 20, 1929, in Pittsburgh, Pa., to Charles and Julia Jaksec. She and her younger brother spent many of her early years with her Grandma Walkauskas, who operated a boarding house built in 1830 along the National Road on Pittsburgh's North Side. Growing up in the 1930s on Beaver Avenue, where her father was a respected businessman, she, her brother and her young aunts roamed the neighborhood attending street dances, visiting the soda fountain at Phillips Drug Store and Saturday afternoon movies at the Hippodrome Theater. At 13, Norma moved to rural Hastings, Mich., with her mother, stepfather and brother. At 16 she was pretty, five-foot-two with eyes of blue, and president of her class, and had no date to the junior prom. Her friends set her up with the available class nerd, Chuck Gwinn. It was the start of 68 years of going steady. She attended the University of Michigan on scholarship. Chuck left a prestigious small private college to attend the U of M and be near Norma. They were married before a justice of the peace in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Feb. 18, 1950. In December they were married a second time, in a Catholic ceremony in Hastings, to be sure their first-born child would be legitimate. He arrived just in time to attend his parents' graduation, wearing his own little gown and mortarboard. For the next 10 years Norma moved around the country as Chuck finished medical school and started a surgical residency in Akron, Ohio. Their fourth child was born at Camp Pendleton, Calif., while Chuck was in the Navy. After another stay in Akron the family moved to Rapid City in 1961. Chuck practiced surgery in the area for four decades. Norma and Chuck also lived in Hot Springs and Sturgis for 15 years, finally retiring to Rapid City in 2000. Norma enjoyed reading mysteries, doing crossword puzzles and gardening. She loved holidays, especially Christmas, and kept decorated trees in her home year round. In her 70s she was a regular at YMCA water aerobics classes. She was active with the Black Hills Medical Society, the board of Bethlehem Cave and the Black Hills Food Bank. The Gwinns were strong supporters of the performing arts around the Black Hills, and also enjoyed trips to New York, Chicago and San Francisco for opera and shows. Norma's principal mission was rearing the (by 1966) eight Gwinn children. She was a loving mother and wife, and derived great pleasure from her children even when their behavior was less than perfect. She was outgoing and had many friends; she never met a stranger who did not instantly become a friend. Her vivacious personality began to fade as her Alzheimer's disease advanced in the last several years of her life. Even in her decline she and Chuck enjoyed plays and concerts, through her last outing on April 12. Norma leaves behind her husband of 64 years, Charles Gwinn. Her surviving children are David (Gina Nania) of Rapid City, Julia Rippley (Robert) of Engelwood, Colo., Robert (Cathy Ke) of Captain Cook, Hawaii, Thomas (Robin) of Tempe, Ariz., Stephen (Stephanie) of Norco, Calif., and Barbara Gwinn-Edwards (Craig) of Norco, Calif., along with a grandson and great-granddaughter. She will also be missed by a very special friend, Libbie Pavich. She was preceded in death by sons John and Bruce, her parents, and her brother. A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 3, at Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home in Rapid City with Rev. Herb B. Cleveland officiating. Inurnment will be at Black Hills National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Behavior Management Systems.