"With my mom's birthday at one end of this week, and Mother's Day coming up the following week, I am overwhelmed with gratitude," Chuck wrote.
In honor of his mother Wilma Norris Knight's 102nd birthday, Chuck Norris published a touching ode to her on May 2. An old photo of the actor and his mother cuddling as the actor was seated next to her, was posted on Facebook.
The star couldn't believe his mother, who was born in 1921, was getting any older. The actor claimed that what was most striking was how she was so full of life that she could live for another hundred years! "With my mom's birthday at one end of this week, and Mother's Day coming up the following week, I am overwhelmed with gratitude," Chuck wrote.
In an interview with The Mike Huckabee Show in 2012, Wilma shared that the family had a lot of difficult days, but Chuck and Wilma have always been close. Wilma's husband changed after World War II, battling serious alcoholism and frequently exhibiting aggressive and violent behavior. Chuck, then 12 asked his mother not to stay with their father. The boys admitted they had reached their breaking point, per CBN.
Chuck and his family relocated 16 times to low-rent homes by the time he was 15 after his parents' final divorce, which left the family desperately penniless. Wilma struggled to support her children while receiving welfare, working both days and nights. However, Chuck’s mother, whom Chuck says “loves Jesus with her heart and soul still” always believed in him. She would tell him repeatedly, “God has plans for you.” And Chuck stayed just curious enough to want to find out exactly what that meant.
He would always be known to his mother as Carlos, the actor's birth name, rather than Chuck, Wilma shared in the interview. When they were destitute, Wilma said, the star took up the role of the man of the home because his father had abandoned them, which is why she dubbed him "her defender". Chuck looked after his younger brothers when his mother worked overnight shifts.
Chuck acknowledged to ODB in March 2023 that his mother had always served as a source of strength and tenacity for him. “Mom has been an example of perseverance and faith,” he wrote. She raised three boys on her own during the Great Depression; suffered the death of two spouses, a son, a stepson, and grandchildren; and endured many surgeries. “She has prayed for me all my life, through thick and thin.” He continued, “When nearly losing my soul to Hollywood, she was back home praying for my success and salvation.” He concluded, “I thank my mom for helping God to make me all I can and should be.”
References:
https://www2.cbn.com/article/mental-health/chuck-norris-gets-kick-out-life
https://odb.org/US/2023/03/27/hes-listening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGqzNsy1e9A
https://www2.cbn.com/article/mental-health/chuck-norris-gets-kick-out-life
Cover Image Source: Facebook | Chuck Norris
