Christ Community Covenant Church

Norm and Lynn Waugh

If you have been at 4C’s for any length of time you know the smiling faces of Norm and Lynn Waugh! As charter members of the congregation they are part of an exclusive group who has been here through all the seasons of our church’s life.

Norman Erick Waugh was born July 24, 1934 in a rural area of Great Falls, Montana near the Missouri River and the Great Northern railway yards. He is the oldest son of Erick Waugh, a first generation immigrant from Norway (1906), and mother Cornelia, who was of French Canadian descent. The family initially lived in a home his father, a carpenter, had built which had enough acreage to support two horses, and a few cows and chickens. He fondly remembers his early years there playing cowboys and Indians with his younger brother, exploring the nearby railroad yard, and flattening pennies on the tracks. Occasionally they were treated to a tour of the roundhouse and were even allowed to climb into the cabs of the big steam engines. Later on Norm’s folks bought a home that had been badly neglected and his dad took on the task of rebuilding it. Norm recalls that “new” home was never quite completed due to his father's poor health.

At school Norm played the B flat clarinet in band and eventually the E flat alto clarinet as well. Although, by his own admission, he was not proficient on the instrument, he had the only one in the state which gained him a regular seat in the All State Band! During his junior year in high school Norm's father passed away after suffering from carpenter's lung disease. It was a difficult time for the family and his mother had to work a series of jobs and sold cream, eggs, and butter from the farm to make ends meet. Mom and the boys made deliveries every Saturday, then sweetened the day with a visit to the local hamburger stand for a treat. Within three years after her husband’s passing Mrs. Waugh would sell the homestead and return to live and work in Great Falls.

After graduation in 1952 Norm headed for Denver and the DU business school. He worked at Fontius Shoes in downtown Denver for three years to pay his way through business and retailing courses and graduated in the spring of 1956. That fall he chose enlistment in the Navy over the draft and left for officer’s candidate school in Newport, Rhode Island. During his entire tour as a Crypto Communications officer he would never set foot on a moving Navy vessel although duty would take him to Florida, California, and eventually Honolulu, Hawaii. While there Norm attended a Methodist church that sponsored a lunch after services for members and guests to attend. Acting as host one Sunday he inquired of the guests where they were from and found that there were visitors from Colorado Springs. Not one to miss a chance to strike up a conversation with an attractive single gal with a beautiful smile, Norm introduced himself to Lynn Woods and her parents. For the next week he would be their personal tour guide around the island. It was the beginning of a romance that would blossom over several months as Norm learned to know Lynn better through correspondence after she and her parents returned to Colorado Springs.

Arlynn Rae Woods was born on April 27, 1936 near Ainsworth, Nebraska, the only child of Raymond and Violet Woods. Soon after Lynn’s birth the family moved to Fowler, Colorado where her father owned the local Gambles hardware store. When he left for the Navy during WWII, Lynn’s mother ran the store and Lynn enjoyed playing with her friends and life in a small town. Her first job was scraping gum off the bottom of restaurant tables, but she eventually graduated to setting pins in the local bowling alley. During her junior year in high school the family moved to Colorado Springs. There she worked in a small department store until after graduation and then she too headed for Denver University. During her two years there she never met Norman. She did, however, begin working for United Airlines as a reservationist and made use of the benefits by booking a trip for her parents and herself to Hawaii. She had to lie and tell her mother they were going to Seattle to get her on the plane as mom was afraid to fly over water! In the end her mother said that trip was the best gift anyone ever gave her! Of course, Lynn certainly agreed.

Norm returned to the mainland nine months after meeting the Woods family in Hawaii and asked Lynn’s parents if he could take her to Montana to meet his mother. Not only did they say “yes!” but her father let him use his car! They were married on December 12, 1959 at a full military wedding in Honolulu, crossed swords and all. The couple remained in Hawaii until February 1960 and then moved to Norm’s new duty station in San Diego. His tour ended in 1961 but Norm would continue on in the Naval Reserve. The Waugh’s returned to the Green Mountain area of Lakewood, CO where Norm landed a position with Montgomery Wards in their mail order division. During this time Lynn enjoyed her life as a wife and homemaker and the couple welcomed two daughters, Karen and Norma, into their family. Lynn “rode herd” on two little girls with a love of horseback riding and Norm moved to a new position with May D&F. Over time he advance into mid-upper store management and then, after 15 years, he was abruptly terminated. It was a humbling experience that gave him a new perspective on his life. While Norm was out of work Lynn found a position with a local tool and die company and soon became their project estimator. She worked for the company for five years and helped support the family until Norm achieved his real estate license. Their girls were members of Westernaires so the couple sold their Green Mtn. house and moved to a property with a small acreage where they could care for their horses themselves. Arvada became their home and Norm went on to own his own real estate company through Metro Brokers. He retired as a Captain from the Naval Reserve in 1984 after 28 years, and from real estate in 2006 after 32 years in the industry.

As the girls grew, Karen and Norma’s lives took very different paths. The relationship with Karen was strained, but the Waugh’s believe God restored it during the two years before they lost her near Christmas, 1997 at the age of 35 to a brain aneurysm. Norma married and she and husband Luke have twin sons. Norm and Lynn were deeply honored when Luke came to them with a very special request before the twins were born. He asked if they would mind if he changed his last name to Waugh so that their sons would carry on the family name. The strangest part for daughter Norma was changing her married name back to her maiden name! Now all the Waugh’s spend happy times together and especially love to camp and fly fish whenever they have the chance.

Norm and Lynn have certainly survived their share of difficulties, but both feel that despite the challenges, the Lord has richly blessed them over 54 years of marriage. Lynn fell and broke the C1 vertebrae in her neck 15 months ago and a more recent fall has caused some memory difficulties as well. Despite that she took control and is back on her feet again and no longer uses a wheelchair after loosing 100 lbs. of weight. You can see the pride in Norm’s eyes when he talks about his wife’s accomplishments, especially so when he points out the many lovely paintings she has done that grace the walls of their spacious home. As for Norm, he loves stamp collecting and studying genealogy, and he’s learning to play the banjo on a museum quality instrument given to him by his cousin. Oh, and he’ll be 80 in 2014 and plans to go skydiving again (he went the first time when he was 75)!

Many years ago Norm and Lynn witnessed a young Marine make the devastating mistake of dropping his bayonet during a parade drill. While the crowd held their collective breath they heard a youngster shout out, “That’s alright mister!” to encourage him. That made such an impression that the phrase has been used regularly in their family to soothe and forgive each other in many different circumstances. Over the years the Waugh’s have also made it a priority to always tell family members and friends how much they love them. Their faith, that love and the ability to forgive has been, and will always remain the cornerstone of their lives.