Obituary of Norman Womack

Norman Womack, 81, formerly of Montour Falls, passed away on Friday, June 13, 2014 at Beechtree Center in Ithaca. He was born in San Diego, CA on December 5, 1932 and graduated from Hoover High School, Class of 1951. He went on to receive a BA in Music in 1961 from San Francisco State College, and received a Master of Music in 1963 from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA. Norman received a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in 1970 at Rhode Island College, and in 1994 received an AS in Business Administration from Corning Community College. Norman received numerous awards and scholarships in his lifetime that included the Thespian Scholarship in 1951, the "Atlas" award for best actor in a minor role at the Summer Shakespeare Festival from the Old Globe Theatre in 1951. He also received a scholarship in Opera at Tanglewood in 1961, an Opera scholarship to NEC from 1961-1963, and received the Ford Foundation Fellowship in Artistic Administration, NYC Opera in 1964. Following graduate study, Norman worked as a freelance opera conductor and director until appointed director of the Rhode Island Arts Council in 1966. He then went on to Brown University as an administrator from 1966-1977. He taught elementary music from 1969-1979 in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine. From 1979 until his retirement, Norman worked in sales, insurance, real estate and hardware. Raised without the benefit of religious education, he was humbly grateful for the gift of a good singing voice which led him to explore the great works of sacred music, especially J.S. Bach, G.F. Handel, and W.A. Mozart among many others. Their texts formed the foundation of his Christian faith. In 1995, he had a profound spiritual awakening at Saint Thomas's Chapel in Bath, NY. He took his first Communion on Christmas Eve at Christ Episcopal Church in Corning, and was baptized there the Sunday after Easter at the age of 63 ½ (As his mother always said, "better late than never"). It had taken nearly fifty years since his first "Messiah" and then concerts and services in churches of every denomination. Norman is survived by a son Roy Womack; a brother, Elmer H. Womack; as well as two former wives, Janet Hewins of San Francisco, and Judy Kazunas of Framingham, MA. A Memorial service celebrating Norman's life will be held on Sunday, June 22, 2014 at 10:45 at Saint James's Episcopal Church, 112 Sixth St. in Watkins Glen. You may leave a message of condolence, sign a guestbook, or light a free "Candle of Remembrance" at www.vedderandscottfuneralhome.com