Lucille Frances Norberg

Lucille Norberg

September 25, 1923 – July 22, 2022

Lucille Frances Norberg, was born on September 25, 1923, and passed away on July 22, 2022, two months short of her 99th birthday. She was born in Blecher, Louisiana, to Lennie and Harvey Broome, who owned a cotton farm. Lucille was the second oldest of 9 children. At the age of 5 her family moved to Oil City, Louisiana, where she attended school. After she came home from school she would pick cotton until dinner. She became such a great cotton picker that her father allowed other farmers to hire her for $.50 a day to pick cotton for them. When Lucille was 6 years old her father realized that she loved music and dance. He signed her up for dance classes where she learned tap, jazz, ballet and hula dancing. Everything she did she did well and she excelled at a very young age. This is how she learned that whatever you do, do it well and give 110%.

At the age of 13, she kept a diary creating a master plan for her life and she established a mission statement that didn’t include picking cotton. At 16, she left her home and family in Louisiana and went off to get an education and to make something of herself.

She had many opportunities and many adventures in her life. At the age of 21 she found herself in Chicago and was performing as a professional dancer, opening for big name stars like Martha Raye, Jan Murray, Mel Torme and Tony Bennett.

Lucille enrolled in college classes wherever she went and although never got an official degree, she mastered a lot of information and received certificates of completion. In 1950, she moved to California and became the assistant to the auditor at Coldwell Banker. She left there seven years later and became the controller and general manager of Downtown Lincoln Mercury in Los Angeles. In 1975, she was gifted 10% of that dealership and was the second woman named by Ford Motor Company as a franchised dealer.

In December 1988, Lucille married the love of her life, John Norberg. She became a member of the San Marino Community Church and a contributing member to the San Marino community. During their married life, Lucille and John traveled extensively throughout the world. Lucille was a big supporter of the fire and police departments and enjoyed many visits to see them. She was also a very active member of the San Marino Woman’s Club where she was president in 2005 and several more times after that. Lucille was interested in all facets of the community and she wanted to give back. She became a member of the Rotary Club of San Marino in 2006 and was a very active member. She was also named a Paul Harris Fellow. Lucille added important events to Rotary and she enjoyed setting up Rotary on the Town events and planning the Annual Holiday Party. In 2011 and in the 10 years that followed, she was extremely involved with selling San Marino Motor Classic tickets, programs and volunteering to oversee the VIP luncheon in Lacy Park.

In 1995, Lucille became a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association as a Certified Arbitrator, where she heard many interesting cases from marital disputes to the Lemon Law. In 1999, she became an Associate Member of the CALCPA.

Before she married John and in her spare time, she enjoyed bowling. She won a Silver Medal in the Senior Bowling PBA Tournament in 1993 and this was an important event in her life when Olympian and World Champion Rafer Johnson presented her the first of her medals, the Silver Medal. She later won a Gold Medal at the Senior Olympics, and State and National Championships as well. Her introduction to Rafer Johnson gave her the opportunity to become a strong supporter of the Special Olympics.

She is preceded in death by her husband, John Norberg; her parents, Lennie and Harvey Broome; and all of her siblings. She is survived by her daughter, Janice Blechl, two granddaughters, Cynthia Blechl and Alicia Ogden, and her San Marino Rotary friends, the women of the San Marino Woman’s Club and the San Marino Community Church Women’s Club.

Services will be held on Thursday, September 22, 2022, at 11:30 a.m. at the San Marino Community Church and a fellowship reception will be held immediately following the service. The services and fellowship will be televised for those that are unable to make the event. Please see the livestream link at : youtube.com/watch?v=Bp0omIbJZSM

The family is requesting, only festive “party” clothing at her services. Lucille wanted a celebration of her life with all her friends to be a happy occasion. In lieu of flowers, you may make a donation in her name to the San Marino Rotary Charities at 1425 Hampton Road, San Marino, Calif. 91108.