Norma McConkie Kerby

Norma McConkie Kerby was born June 13, 1930. The youngest of 5 children of W. Russell McConkie and Nora A. Johnson. She was born in Moab Utah and spent her childhood there. She left Moab to attend Brigham Young University to become a teacher, which became her life long pursuit. One of her first teaching assignments was in the Phoenix AZ area where she came to love her students of Mexican descent.

She married her Eternal Companion Jon E Kerby in the Manti Temple on July 21, 1953. In her later years she loved to tell people that they had known each other since they were five years old. 

After Jon finished school they moved out to California, first to the Los Angeles area before Jon accepted a job down in San Diego and they bought a home in Poway. At the time, Poway was a very small bedroom community.

Norma was one of the original teachers at the new Meadowbrook middle school. In fact as they were paving the street up the hill, there was still a large rock that was in the middle of the road, and one day Norma took out her gas tank on that rock. It only took Norma about 20 years to get thru middle school, but she ended her teaching years at Mount Carmel High School.

She loved teaching, and she love home economics, which was her class at both Meadowbrook and Mount Carmel High School. There are more than a few students who will tell you about Mrs. Kerby and her home economics class. Many times during our career here in north county Keith and I would have people say to us, “oh your Mrs. Kerby’s son”.

Norma retired from teaching in. Together with her Eternal Companion, she served a Senior Mission with their friends the Hilbigs in the Tennessee Knoxville mission.

Norma and Jon had 3 sons, Alan, Keith and Bryce. Alan and Keith have remained in north county, Bryce currently finds himself in Tulsa Ok. Norma is survived by her 3 sons, 14 grandchildren and 32 great grandchildren.

Norma quietly left this world behind to join her Eternal Companion on Saturday August 12th. While she will be missed, she leaves a legacy not only with her family but the thousands of young people she touched and also her teaching associates.

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