Norita S. Birdsong

Norita Birdsong, 77, of Neptune Beach, FL passed away peacefully with her family by her side on Saturday, March 30, 2024 after a short battle with degenerative brain disease.  

Norita, originally from Brooklyn, NY was the youngest of six children.  Her parents, Simon and Catherine Saunders emigrated from Cork, Ireland.  She and her surviving husband, Scott, have lived in the Jacksonville beaches area for 56 years and raised their four sons here. She will be forever cherished by Scott and her sons.  Norita’s surviving sons are Greg, Jeff, John, and Jay along with their wives Dianna, Jackie, Betsy, and Summer (respectively).  Norita is also survived by her three grandchildren: Lily, Rachel, and Jackson as well as her sister Colleen Saunders Bording. 

Norita was a memorable fixture locally.  She spent her last 23 years in real estate with Watson Realty Corp. She was a lifelong member of St. Paul’s Catholic Church.  She enjoyed membership in The Beaches Garden Club and enjoyed spending time with a group of fellow June birthday celebrants (affectionately referred to as the “Crab Ladies”), Norita had a lasting and memorable presence in the community.  Be it through her fellowship with other garage sale enthusiasts or through her work with the Ulster Project that brought Catholic and Protestant teenagers from Northern Ireland together to show them that they had more commonalities than differences.

Norita will be dearly missed by all that knew her.  She loved her community and all those she met along the way. 

A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday May 2, 2024 at 11:00am at St. Paul’s Catholic Church with a reception to follow at the Parish Hall. The family welcomes all to come share stories and celebrate the life of this loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend.  

In lieu of flowers or gifts, the family requests donations be made to their new Non-profit to raise money for the fight against Alzheimer’s disease or to your local Community Hospice. Donations to The Birdsong’s Fight Against ALZ, Inc.  will be accepted on site or can be made via https://givebutter.com/9yVuka