Obituary of April Norman

April Norman, 41, died Tuesday, November 7th, 2023, in her NE Tacoma home surrounded by family and friends. She was born July 1st, 1982, at Valley Medical in Kent, Wa. April went to school in Enumclaw where she made lifelong friends who she had coffee with on a regular basis. After high school, she worked many years completing medical billing at Pacific Medical and Care Plus Medical Center. During this time, April married her soul mate and penguin, Kayla Hoover on September 17th, 2011, surrounded by friends and family in Ocean Park, WA.

About 10 years ago, April began driving for King County Metro. She enjoyed driving the 60 feet buses through the streets of Seattle and connecting with her regular passengers. April was the most compassionate driver/person and would never refuse a passenger, even if they did not have the funds for the ride. She would simple say “get it to me next time” with her sly grin and wink. She received many accommodations from her passengers talking about her compassion, patience, and warmth. She would work a 10-hour day and then see a houseless woman on the street and spend the next 2 hours of her day, buying her groceries, socks and getting her information on nearby shelters. This was the person/angel that she was.

In 2019, April and Kayla welcomed their son Henry, after trying for many, many years for children. April wanted to teach Henry so many things in the time that she had with him. Any time she was working on a project she wanted Henry to watch what she was doing and get him involved as much as possible. She was very much a Miss Fix it and wanted Henry to have the tools that he needed to fix things as well, at the age of 3 . They loved cooking breakfast together, but their most favorite past time was making art together. Art was a huge passion for April, and this is what they connected on the most.

April enjoyed remodeling her home, photography, going to concerts with her group of friends called “the 6 pack”, trips to the ocean and of course the casino. April took an annual weeklong fishing trip with her family up to Wendego Lodge near Kamloops Canada. This was a family tradition for over 30 years in a row. She enjoyed fishing at the log boom, watching the eagles fly 5 feet in front of her to grab a fish out of the lake, listening to the loons, rowboat races, and laying on the hill watching the meteor showers. She loved music and tried her best to learn the guitar and piano, but her memory impairment was always a barrier. She was very determined and continued to try up until the last month of her life.

April is survived by her wife, Kayla Hoover, son, Henry Hoover – Norman, parents, Debbie and Steve Norman, her sister, Jen Golden, nephew Trevin Gabrio, niece Mariah Edwards, grandfather, Bill Downing, Aunt Brenda Severeid and husband Marty, Uncle Wayne Downing and his wife, Velma, Uncle Rich Norman and wife, Phyllis and numerous cousins.

April fought brain cancer in 2005, 2008 and was given the unimaginable news following her 2022 surgery that this time it would take her life within 9 months – 2 years. Over the last 17 months, April has continued to live her life and make as many memories as possible with her family and friends, going to the beach, casinos, concerts, and Vegas. Many times, she asked about going back to work as she wanted to continue to provide for her family, even though the doctor stated she would not be able to return to work. April was the most selfless, genuine, humble, funny, beautiful, and compassionate person. Anyone that met April, could vouch that she gave the best hugs, as you could just feel her heart reaching out to you in those moments. We were blessed to know her and now blessed to have her as our guardian angel.