Norma J. Caron of Altoona passed away peacefully on Monday November 4th after having fought a yearlong battle with cancer.
Norma was born to Martin Edmund Burke and Caroline Dorothy Burke (nee Ritzheimer) in 1946 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She was the youngest of five brothers and sisters. In later years, Norma moved to Miami, Florida to live with her dad and stepmother, Catherine. This is where her love of horses began. This is also where she began a successful banking career with Financial Federal Savings and Loan Association and where she met her future husband, Gene. They married and decided to move the family from Miami to Lake County (Altoona) and the Ocala National Forest in the mid 1970’s to be closer to their new found hobby, endurance trail riding, specifically the Florida Horsemen’s Association 100 Miler.
Norma competed in countless rides here in Florida and throughout the Southeastern United States. Her horsemanship was always exceptional; she and her four-legged companions consistently placed high in the rankings. Norma and Gene spent many hours marking trails in the forest, meeting and greeting everyone and helping those in need along the way. Gene predeceased her in 2003.
Norma was a member of the Florida Horsemen’s Association, South Eastern Distance Riders Association (SEDRA), Old Peoples Riders Club – The Ravin Riders in Altoona.
She competed in Competitive Trail and Endurance Rides for 45 years (1970 – 2015), completing 6,170 competition miles. “To finish is to win” – SEDRA, Happy Trails Norma, Norma retired from First Family Federal Savings & Loan, Eustis, Florida
Norma is survived by two daughters, Connie Caron Miller (Jeff) Ft. Myers Florida and Belinda Caron Dyal, Sanford, Florida; two sons, Douglas (Marcia) Caron, West Palm Beach, and Keith (Lorna) Caron Austin, Texas; eight grandchildren and sixteen great grandchildren.