Art Norman, whose WMAQ-Channel 5 segments feature locals with uplifting tales, could have been the focus of one of his own pieces. After losing his wife of 38 years to cancer in 2010, he joined Gilda’s Club Chicago to help work through his grief. It was on one of the organization’s group outings that he reconnected with Terri Diggs, an AT&T exec he had first met in 2003 and who had recently lost her father to cancer. The duo made a dinner date, forged an instant connection and fell in love. Norman credits Diggs with helping him bring back his signature smile — which has endeared him to Chicagoans in his three decades on the news.
Terri Diggs and Art Norman before their reception
When the doors swung open on Nov. 10 at the DuPage AME Church in Lisle there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. “I could barely give my vows,” says Diggs. “The way he looked at me, I couldn’t see anything except for how happy he was. And I felt the same.” The reception followed at the Mid America Club, where 250 guests, including news reporters Marion Brooks, Cheryl Burton and Robin Meade, celebrated until midnight. Diggs gifted Norman a custom tuxedo for the big day and had a special cream jacket designed for the reception to match her dress. “When all the people saw him change into the jacket, the crowd went crazy,” says Diggs, which is unsurprising, considering that Norman is beloved by almost all who meet him — and of course, by his new wife. “I’m not only in love with this man, but I’m an Art Norman fan as well,” says Diggs. For Norman, the feeling is completely mutual. “We laugh together, we cry together and we healed,” he says.
Story by Katerina Bizios
