Elderly residents at the Ponds at Punaluu Senior Living Community, some with walkers, paid tribute yesterday at a roadside memorial for a Hauula resident whom many considered a close friend.

Vicki Norman was driving back from the post office with the residents' mail Thursday afternoon when a 7-ton Marine truck crossed the center line on Kamehameha Highway in Hauula and struck her minivan head-on, police said. No arrests were made and an investigation is under way, police said.

The Medium Tactical Vehicle was headed toward the Kahuku Training Area from the Marine Corps base in Kaneohe when it hit Norman's Kaneohe-bound minivan.

“;She was the life of the party,”; said May “;Tui”; Swafford, a close friend of Norman's for 25 years. “;She always lit up every room. ... She's always coming with a big smile, so happy all the time. She never showed any pain or anything. She was full of life.

“;She was the best friend I ever had,”; said Swafford, who works at Ponds at Punaluu, where Norman was the activities manager for more than eight years.

The 57-year-old's death came as a blow to the tightknit Hauula community as well as her family, friends, co-workers and residents at Ponds.

“;She is the Superglue between the residents and the staff here,”; said Ponds manager Steven Bae. “;She's one of the pioneers here. ... She was well respected. It's a great, devastating loss right now.”;

Many of the elderly residents placed flowers and prayed at a roadside memorial set up for Norman.

“;They were so saddened by the misfortune,”; Swafford said. “;They all came to surround her where she had her last stand.”;

Norman, a Parma, Mo., native, was a single mother whose second husband died a couple of years ago.

“;She was really close with all of us,”; daughter Noe Gonzalez, 26, said. “;She was like a best friend to all of us. We could talk to her about anything. She was very easy to talk to and would help us with any problem we had.

“;She just wanted the best for all of us,”; she said, crying. “;She was a very hard-working mother, and she took good care of all of us.”;

Norman's youngest children — Sam, 20, and Grace Kanakanui, 19 — lived with their mother and will stay with Gonzalez for now.

Norman also is survived by sons Eddie and Ikaika Gonzalez, son Mike and grandchildren.

Kathryn Lindsay said Norman was her best friend.

Lindsay said she and Norman's family and friends have been bombarded with calls “;because she touched so many people.”;

Anyone wishing to assist Norman's family may do so by sending donations to Noe Gonzalez and Family at P.O. Box 307, Waialua, HI 96791.