Leilani M (Booska) Norman

Monson-Leilani May Norman, 80, beloved wife of 62 years of Harold Richard Norman passed away on January 12, 2022.  Leilani was born September 9, 1941 in Montague, MA to the late Alfred F. Booska and Mary L. (Sawyer) Keller. It is hard to summarize a life well lived in a few paragraphs. Leilani and the love of her life, Harold, were married in 1959 and the adventure began. She started knitting at the age of 6 and never stopped. You could always tell that she was feeling good when you saw her knitting, or doing any of her other crochet, needlework, or sewing projects. She always had multiple projects going and often was making things for family or charity projects, including the military.

Leilani was an avid enthusiast of life, and a lifelong learner. She always wanted to be better at whatever she was doing, and was a great example that a woman could do anything that she set her mind to. This made her a powerful role model to her children and grandchildren and made them all strive to be better and make her proud.

Leilani and Harold built a house in Montgomery, Ma, started a family, and moved to Monson, Ma in 1969. After Harold took a lapidary course, he taught her, and she went from there to become an experienced stone cutter, gemstone faceter, silversmith, goldsmith, and lost wax caster. They formed the Aloha Rock Shop aka/ Aloha Gems and Minerals. They were members of the CT Valley Mineral Club, and collected and sold at gem and mineral shows for many years. Following back surgery, that limited her mobility, her interests expanded to orchids. Harold had made the “mistake” of giving her a couple of orchids, and so started her obsession with growing them. They were members of the CT Orchid Society and joined the Amherst Orchid Society in 1987. The American Orchid Society was later joined and they traveled to attend conferences, meetings, and events connected to orchids. Their business became Aloha Enterprises, when they added orchids to their sales. They became exhibitors and vendors at the Amherst Orchid Society Spring shows, winning many awards for their exceptional plants and having many returning customers, this continued until Feb. of 2020, which was their final show. They were vendors at the Brimfield Farmers Market in the summers and had added perennials to their other offerings. She always asked people who purchased her plants to call her if they had questions or if their plant did not thrive, as she wanted to make sure that they were successful at their growing. She always felt that you could never have too much education and strived to learn something new every day.

She leaves her loving and devoted husband of 62 years, Harold R. Norman; their children; Tracy A. Norman and her husband Edward Shearer of Northfield, MA, Richard F. Norman and his wife Rosa of Goldsboro, NC, and Renee M. Lagacy and her husband John of Tehachapi, CA; a brother Steven Booska and his wife Amanda of CA; a sister Betty Moore and her husband Larry of CA; twelve grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Leilani had always requested that she receive flowers when she was alive, and not after she had passed. She wanted to be able to enjoy them. Please honor her wishes. In her memory, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Shriners Hospitals for Children, 516 Carew St. Springfield, MA 01104.

All services are private.