Norma Jean (Crittenden) Gates

Norma Jean (Crittenden) Gates

Norma Jean "Jean" (Crittenden) Gates, 94, passed away peacefully on September 13, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. She was born October 10, 1931, in Gary, Indiana, to Velma Robertson.

Jean accepted Christ at an early age. As a young girl, she participated in religious, recreational, and arts-and-crafts activities at the historic John Stewart Memorial Settlement House. She later became a member of Delaney Methodist Church.

After graduating from Froebel High School, Jean's first job was performing factory piecework alongside her cousin, Juanita Cruse. She turned her love of sewing into a lifelong career that included clothing alterations. At age 60, she returned to school to study upholstery.

Jean and her husband, Frederick Gates, shared 58 years of wedded bliss. From their union, one daughter, Norma, was born.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Frederick Gates; mother, Velma Robertson; aunt, Gertrude Williams; sisters, Joyce Clay and Irma Suttles; and brothers, Donald Crittenden and Lloyd E. Robertson Sr.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Norma and Greg King; sister, Sandra King; grandchildren; great-grandchildren; great-great-grandchildren; and other loving relatives and friends.

Visitation will be held Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 9:00-10:00 a.m., followed by the funeral at 10:00 a.m. at Marlan Gary Funeral Home, Chapel of Peace, 5456 Livingston Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43232. Interment at Union Cemetery Association. To read the complete obituary, order flowers, view video tribute and offer condolences to the Gates Family, visit www.TheChapelofPeace.com