The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • A8

A8 Orlando Sentinel Sunday, January 7, 2018 FROM PAGE ONE "He loved his birthday because it involved cake, food and a lot of people. This is a special and blessed day." Norma Lewis about her son, Deputy Norman Lewis of Real Life Christian Church in east Orange County. They sang "Happy Birthday" and released black, blue, red, yellow and green balloons. Norma watched as they sailed away, becoming specks in the sky. Susan Soto kissed Nor-ma's cheek.

Susan and her husband, Frank Soto, both sergeants at the Sheriff's Office, didn't know Norma before Norman's death. But Norman was very special to them and now Norma is, too. "Birthdays are always better in Heaven! We love you Norm. Norma is now and forever part of our family," Susan, Frank and their son, Christian, wrote on a poster signed by guests at the birthday party. Norma has also become a second mom to Christian, a freshman at Lake Nona High School and a football player.

Norma attended Christian's football games, hauling a bag of shakers for cheering in the stands. She passed them out to other parents, and soon the noise from their side of the stadium drowned out the opposing fans, the Sotos said. 'Don't worry, Susie. I will teach you everything you need to know for Susan recalled Norma saying about football Through passing on her experiences, Norma continues to be a mother to many "adoptive sons." Christian recently made the varsity team It's a lot of work, he said at Norman's party. "But work pays off, like I used to tell Norm," Norma quipped.

At the party, there was red-velvet cake. Afterward, friends and family went to Maggiano's Little Italy for a three-course meal. Norman would have loved it, his mother said. "He loved his birthday because it involved cake, food and a lot of people," Norma said. "This is a special and blessed day." ktorralvaorlando sentinel.com, 407-420-5417 or Twitter: KMTorralva LEWIS Continued from Page A1 The next morning, Norman was pursuing accused cop killer Markeith Loyd when he was thrown from his motorcycle after colliding with a van.

He died about an hour later at Orlando Regional Medical Center. That wasn't the only death Norma Lewis faced last year. But she has kept going through her fervent faith in God and by continuing to be a mother to Norman's friends. "We're celebrating. We're not mourning," Norma, 59, said Tuesday, on what would have been her son's 36th birthday.

She pushed her glasses up to wipe a tear away. "My heart is full. These are tears of joy." In an instant, Norma and John went from planning their only child's birthday to arranging his funeral. John stood by Norma and held her arm as she wept over their son's casket Jan. 15, 2017.

The community mourned with them, as Orlando Police Lt Debra Clayton, whom Loyd is accused of shooting to death, was laid to rest the day before. The couple took their son back home to be buried in Port Charlotte, where they had lived since 1988. Norman was buried on the right of his mother's plot Norma and John would visit and sit on a bench facing the headstone. The couple, married 37 years, got through the loss together. Then on May 6, 2017, John died.

Within the span of four months, Norma Lewis buried her husband and son. Now, Norma talks to both of the men she loves from the bench where she imagined her son would visit her. She remembers Norman and John dancing together in the living room of their house, trips to attend Norman's football games when he played for the University of Central Florida and Norman's commitment to Orlando. "Orlando needs help," Norma recalls him saying STEPHEN M. DOWELLSTAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Lt.

Debra Clayton confronted suspect Markeith Loyd at a Wal-Mart. Police said Loyd shot and killed her. "It's been hell sometimes," said her husband, Seth Clayton, above. "She Lt Debra Clayton really knew the importance of connecting with the community She's a role model for officers." Orlando Police Chief John Mina when he told his parents he would stay in Central Florida after college. Norman mentored kids at Union Park Elementary School, near where he patrolled as a deputy for the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

He often donated food to their families. Norma vowed to continue her son's legacy. She moved to Sanford. She graduated from the 13-week Orange County Sheriff's Office citizens police academy. And on what would have been Norman's 36th birthday, she organized a food drive along with his birthday party.

The year has been hard, Norma said. She especially grappled with the absence of her son's regular phone calls. And she misses his hugs the way he would pick her up, swing her around, put her down and say, "Let me see how you look." Standing at 6 feet, 5 inches, he towered about a foot over her. Norma refuses to wallow in grief. "Ain't no pity party around here," Norman used to say.

She has relied on her faith. "God will put no more on you than you can bear," Norma said. "Sometimes it seems so heavy, but I know that God is with me." Her extended family, which now includes Norman's friends, has helped her. On Norman's birthday last week, dozens of friends and family members surrounded Norma as they prepared to send balloons into the air from the parking lot birthdays and holidays are especially hard. Their birthdays were six days apart in August, and they usually went on a trip.

He said he appreciates the outpouring of support from the community. "It's been bittersweet It's been hell sometimes," he said. "At the beginning it was really, really hard. As time went on, it's still hard, but it's made me stronger as a person" Loyd, who was arrested after a nine-day manhunt, remains in the Orange County Jail awaiting trial. dharrisorlando sentinel.com, 407-420-5471 or DavidHarrisOS Johnny Brinson, now 25.

Clayton relished her nieces and nephews. During the last conversation she had with Huey's 5-year-old daughter, she asked the girl to sing her a song. "My daughter loved her auntie," Huey said. Huey and her family spent Clayton's last Christmas together. Huey chuckled when she recalled her husband giving Clayton a hard time for not making the banana pudding from scratch.

"It's things like that that I'll never forget," Huey said. "That's when reality sets in that she's gone." Seth Clayton tries to keep his mind occupied, but CLAYTON Continued from Page A1 came up to her and said Markeith Loyd, who was wanted in the killing of his pregnant ex-girlfriend, was inside the store. Clayton, 42, confronted him, and he pulled out a gun and shot her, police said. He is accused of walking up and shooting her several more times in what authorities have called an execution-style killing A kiss goodbye The night before, Clayton and her husband celebrated their first wedding anniversary. As she left for work the next morning, she leaned over and kissed him, and they said "I love you" to each other.

She went to a "Coffee with Cops" event, which is designed to bridge the gap between the police and the community something she dedicated her career to doing. After that, she stopped at Wal-Mart. Seth Clayton was at work at the Public Works Department in Lake Mary when he learned about the shooting and rushed to Orlando Regional Medical Center. He was taken to a room, where he was met by Orlando Police Chief John Mina. "I said: Why aren't you taking me to the hospital room? Where's he recalled.

"That's when he told me. And my heart just dropped. I was numb. I couldn't move. I was just in shock." He was escorted to the back of the hospital, where Debra Clayton's flag-draped casket was taken out as dozens of her fellow officers saluted.

"It was like a bad dream," he said. Clayton said that numb feeling returns now and then, but he relishes the time they had together. They met in 2010 at a mutual friend's 50th birthday party at a bar on International Drive. He spotted her on the dance floor. "All I saw was her smile," Clayton said.

They began talking and hit it off. "It was just exhilarating," he said. "It felt like I knew her a long time. It was like I was knowing her forever." After their first date, they sat in the car for three hours and just talked. By the end of the night, he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

'Ifs been hell' Nikkie Anita Huey remembers the first time she met her half-sister. Huey, who was about 9, was getting candy at church when some girls started to bully her. That's when Debra, who was a couple years older, came in and said, "Don't mess with my sister." Huey had no idea who she was. Clayton spent most of her childhood with her father and had never met Huey until that moment It was the start of a lifelong bond. They became closer in high school, and one day they were talking about careers.

Clayton said she wanted to become a police officer. "She said, 'I know I can't make a big change, but maybe if I can make a small change, I can make a big Huey recalled. "It connected with me. What she said lined up with her heart" Clayton followed through and made a strong impact in nearly two decades on the force. She spent countless hours volunteering with lads in the "dragon boat" program and at community forums calling for an end to violence.

Clayton also started a nonprofit for young women and girls who were victims of violence. "She really knew the importance of connecting with the community," Mina said. "She really used those programs to help humanize law enforcement She's a role model for officers." On Tuesday, there will be a "Legacy Walk" from 4-6 p.m at Dr. I. Sylvester Hank-ins Neighborhood Center in Orlando.

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