Obituary of Norma V. Vlahides

Norma Laura Vroom was born on April 2, 1937 to parents with a penchant for bestowing family names on their children and then calling them by nicknames. Norma was named after her father, Norman, and known as "Tuffy" - supposedly for her swaggering gait as a toddler. Perhaps the name was prescient because over the years an inner toughness, masked by a loving and giving spirit, would serve her well as a wife, mother, community volunteer, nurse and teacher. Norma was born in Perth Amboy but grew up in Raritan Township, now known as Edison, where she forged lifelong bonds with a group of neighborhood friends that would come to be known as "The R.T. Gang." She attended the Orange Memorial Hospital School of Nursing where she received her R.N. in 1958. She and her fellow nurses would often visit the Jersey Shore, where one fateful night she met a young man determined to amuse her. He succeeded, and in 1960 she married Leo J. Coakley, a New Jersey State Trooper and father to her four children--Erin Coakley Covert, Megan Coakley Dachisen, Sean Coakley and Kate Coakley Powell. The family resided in Brick, New Jersey. Norma was active in the Junior Women's Club and the P.T.A., eventually becoming the Ocean County P.T.A. President, as well as earning life membership in the New Jersey P.T.A. For more than 15 years, she worked as a nurse assistant and office manager for a local dermatologist, Dr. Bensel, until his retirement. Norma then began her career in education as a teacher of Health Occupations at Ocean County Vocational Technical School, where she worked from 1985 until 2001. In 1982, Norma was voted the Ocean County Jaycettes Woman of the Year, the 1992 Health Occupation Students of America Adviser of the Year, and in 2008 received the Ocean County Foundation for Vocational Technical Education "Acknowledging Excellence Award." She was later inducted into the Ocean County Foundations for Vo-Tech Education "Hall of Excellence." In August of 1985, fate again took a hand when Norma met Anthony J. Vlahides, a neighbor of her sister Bette. They were married in 1987, and she happily expanded her family by two-Chrysanthe Vlahides Longman and Alexa Vlahides Tarby. Norma and Tony resided in Upper Montclair, New Jersey for 15 years, enjoying the company of their friends and neighbors. She was a member of Union Congregational Church in Upper Montclair, where her dear friends sustained her with their kindness and comfort as her illness progressed. In 2004 Norma and Tony purchased a home in Florida and became full time residents in 2009, enjoying the beauty and culture of Longboat Key. A talented artist, seamstress and knitter, Norma enjoyed gardening and traveling the world with Tony. Her greatest joy, however, was to be surrounded by her children and grandchildren at home or her beloved beach She was a favorite aunt and admired by her many friends for her open heart and welcoming spirit. Norma is survived by her husband Anthony, all her children and their spouses (Donald Covert, Andrew Dachisen, Jennifer Coakley, Christopher Powell, Andrew Longman and Bruce Tarby),18 grandchildren, as well as her sister, Bette, and brother Buddy. While Norma certainly loved flowers, she requested that none be sent. Instead, donations in her name can be directed to some of her favorite charities. They include: Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis 10866 W. Washington Blvd. #343 Culver City CA 90232 coalitionforpf.org/ God's Love We Deliver 166 Avenue of the Americas New York NY 10013 www.glwd.org/ NJ Coalition for Battered Women 1670 Whitehorse Hamilton Square Road Trenton NJ 08690 njcbw.org/ Autism Speaks One East 33rd Street 4th Floor New York NY 10016 www.autismspeaks.org/