OBITUARY OF NORMA BLAND: On Friday, July 31, 2020, Norma Jo Poole-Bland, loving daughter and mother of 1 child, passed away at age 71. Norma was born on March 26, 1949 in Daytona Beach, FL to Joe and Maggie Wyman. She graduated from Campbell Senior High School in 1967, and was involved in many activities in high school; Norma represented Campbell as a majorette and member of the School Patrol (served as Miss School Patrol). She received her Master’s Degree from Bethune-Cookman University in 2018, and was in the process of completing coursework on her 2nd Master’s Degree this fall. Norma planned to pursue a career in Law. Norma was a former employee of Stewart Marchman Behavioral Center. (Norma was posthumously awarded her 2nd Master’s Degree during the 12/2020 Bethune-Cookman University Graduation Ceremony)
Norma had a passion for social activism and was a valued member of the community. She also loved mentoring and family time. Norma loved to teach, read and had a passion for public speaking. She was a member of the Volusia County-Daytona Beach NAACP Executive Committee and served as Chair of Legal Redress. She also served on the Committee for Civic Engagement, assisting in registering hundreds of citizens to vote. She was also instrumental in assisting ex-felons in getting their rights restored. Norma had just completed training from the NAACP National Office where she received a certificate in Community Emergency Response (Team) as well as Civil Rights and FEMA Disaster Assistance. Norma also was the CEO of a 501c3 organization known as the Concerned Citizens of Daytona Beach. She was a member of New Life Church in Daytona Beach, where Reverend Victor E. Gooden serve as pastor.
Norma was preceded in death by her father Joe, Sr., and brother, Joe, Jr. She is survived by her son Ralph Walton (Lisa), their children, Quentin, Te’a and MacKenzie; her mother, Maggie Wyman; sister, Montrose, and her four children, Teslim, Corey, Nataleese and Kyra, and18 nieces and nephews. A “NORMA JO BLAND” scholarship will be awarded to a deserving student at
Bethune-Cookman University with a major in Mental Health Counseling.