Norma Allers Gibson

Norma Lee Allers Gibson (79), passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family and friends, on July 9, 2025. Known as "Nora" to her friends and family and "Nana" to her grandchildren, she lived an extraordinary life filled with curiosity, kindness, and generosity. Everything she did was informed by a desire to learn, the intent to treat everyone with dignity and respect, and the commitment to give back to her communities that had given so much to her.

Nora was born at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC on February 14,1946, and grew up in Baltimore and Timonium, MD. She attended Eastern High School and graduated from Dulaney Valley High School (Honors, 1963), Towson State Collegen (B.S. 1967, M.A. 1992). As a French and Spanish teacher, she lived and taught in Richmond, VA; Greensboro, NC; Salisbury, MD; and Doylestown, PA. In retirement she lived in Severna Park, MD, and then Columbia, MD. She is preceded in death by her parents H. Lee Allers, Jr. and Richie "Lorena" Helms Allers, her partner of 15 years James L. (Jim) Yost, Sr.; and her former husband Frank W. Gibson, Jr. She is survived by sons Stefan (with wife Sara Meehan and son Ian) and Eric (with wife Laurie McGuckin and daughters Lillian and Grace); sister Edith A. Windsor (and her son T. Andrew Windsor, his wife Kami and their children Evelyn and Ethan), and brother Thomas L. Allers; her partner Jim's children James L. Yost Jr., Lisa E. Yost and Meghan A. Leggett (and their families); her Belle, Helms, and Allers family cousins in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Spain; and many many friends around the country and the world.

Nora's world view was shaped early on by the values her family instilled in her. From an early age, some of the opportunities that her family and extended community provided would become a lifelong passion: world travel. As a teen, a trip to Japan (by way of Hawaii) with her grandmother to visit her uncles stationed in the Pacific literally opened the door to a whole new world for her. She was fascinated by the new places she visited, the foreign languages she heard, and the kind people she met along the way. She realized then and there that there was a whole world out there beyond Baltimore, and she was intent on seeing and exploring much more of it.

Another important trip on her itinerary was an opportunity through her local Lion's Club Exchange Program. As a foreign exchange student, Nora stayed with families in Denmark, and later Switzerland. Over the course of her exchange summer, Nora lived her best life, travelling to many other countries in Europe, including Germany, and perhaps her favorite place on earth, France. Again, these experiences galvanized her desire to continue to see more of the world. Over the course of her life, she did just that, travelling to countries including China, Peru, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Canada, among others.

Nora poured this love of travel into a career. As a French and Spanish language teacher, she worked to give her students an appreciation of the cultures that she found so much joy in, and the tools with which to communicate worldwide. She took it a step further, and even took a number of her classes over the years on trips to other countries, including France, Spain, and Canada. She was excited to open the door to new experiences for her students, in the same way others had done for her before. Nora's perspective was also informed by the time in which she lived. Coming of age in the 1960's, Nora saw first-hand the struggles of the Civil Rights, Women's Liberation, and Environmentalism movements. As a proud American, she believed whole heartedly in the idea that all people are created equal, with equal rights; she was absolutely committed to being an example of how our country can live up to that creed. In addition to engaging in dialogue about these issues, she got involved in different ways. She joined the League of Women Voters; as President of her local chapter, she fought for the Equal Rights Amendment in the late 70's/early 80's. She was also very active in her community to help get recycling efforts off the ground. These efforts were not just short lived hobbies of an idealistic youth; she held fast to these important causes and ideals throughout her entire life.

She was also an endlessly creative person. Following in the footsteps of her mother, her grandparents, and great-grandparents before that, Nora was quite talented with a needle and thread. From an early age, she was making clothes for herself, including her own wedding dress. She later made clothes for her kids, and continued a family tradition of quilting. She made many a Halloween costume, many a custom birthday cake, and many a Christmas or other holiday ornament (that are still used to this day). With home renovations, she was knee-deep in it with work gloves and boots. Gardening, canning, cooking, baking, she found the time and energy for a host of creative activities. She learned much of this from her family before her, and passed these interests along to her children and grandchildren.

Nora was one who had no trouble keeping busy. She was committed to living a healthy life, and found numerous activities, like biking, hiking, sailing, kayaking, and dancing, to stay active and have fun. She fostered her love of learning in many ways, whether it be taking trips to museums, concerts, and movies, reading books with a book club, or speaking French with the Alliance Francaise. And of course, she never met a travel documentary she didn't like. While Nora was always looking for ways to have fun, the common thread through all of it was the opportunity to spend time with her family and friends; and she took these opportunities to reach out and make new friends wherever she went.

While Nora had many interests and accomplishments, what she really valued most were the people in her life. Her family was always a priority, and she counted her sister, brother, and Belle, Helms, and Allers cousins among her lifelong best friends. She was an amazing mom and role model for her sons, and loved being "nana" and getting to spend time with her grandchildren. She was extremely thankful for her time with her partner and travel companion Jim, his children, and their families. In her later years, she was incredibly grateful for the companionship of Yatta and her amazing caregiver team. And throughout her life, she saw the lifelong friends she made everywhere she went as her extended family. It was clear that the best part of her life experiences was who she got to spend the time with.

In all, Norma "Nora" Gibson lived an extraordinary life. She approached every day with a joy and desire to grow, every place with an excitement to explore, and every person she met with an eagerness to share. When life presented tragedy and hardship, she met it with courage and grace; she never lost sight of everything she had to be thankful for. She leaves a legacy of curiosity, kindness, respect, and generosity, and an incredible example of how to be a good person in the world.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of these charitable organizations:

WETA Public Television: https://weta.org

NPR: https://www.npr.org/donations/support

Alleghany Mountain Radio: https://www.alleghenymountainradio.org/one-time-donation/#donateform

The Alzheimer's Association: https://www.alz.org

To reach out to family, please email noragibsonfamily@gmail.com.