Kicking it with his mom on May 4 to celebrate her 102nd birthday, Chuck Norris posted a heartfelt message honoring the woman he says is “so full of life that she might make it another 100 years!”

“Mom, I don’t know what’s more difficult to believe: that you are 102 years old or that you have a son who is 83 years old,” Chuck, who turned 83 in March, says in a letter to his mother, Wilma. Regardless, I’m so grateful you are my mom. I have always been. We’ve been through thick and thin in this life and are still going strong.”

The martial artist and actor said, “I am grateful to God for three women’s influence. Mother’s Day is less than two weeks away.” I wouldn’t be the man I am without them. These three women are his mother, his wife, Gina, whom he married in 1998, and his grandmother Scarberry (Wilma’s mother), who passed away at 90. Dakota and Danilee, the couple’s twins, were born in 2001.

Wilma Norris Knight was born in 1921, and Chuck–born Carlos Ray–credits her influence, prayers, and unshakable faith for the man he is today.

Wilma didn’t have it easy as a child during the Great Depression. Living in poverty, she raised her three boys, Chuck, the eldest, as a single mother.

When Wilma became a centenarian, Chuck told her, “Mom has been an example of perseverance and faith her whole life. She’s also endured the deaths of her two husbands, a stepson, two grandsons, and my younger brother Wieland in the Vietnam War. She’s had cancer repeatedly and has undergone roughly 30 surgeries for various issues–yet she’s still here to tell about it.”

In May 2012, Wilma, who still refers to Chuck as Carlos, appeared on The Mike Huckabee Show and freely spoke about her life. She referred to her sons as her “defender,” “sunshine,” and “heroes,” calling the youngest Wieland, who was killed in Vietnam, her “hero.”

After being abandoned by her alcoholic husband, Wilma said when Chuck was only 14, “he was the man of the house,” who would babysit his younger brothers while she worked the night shift, helping her pay bills.

Despite the difficulties Wilma experienced, she instilled values in her boys and taught them to be fighters. Making us think that we can do anything in life, that there will be challenges, but if you’re tenacious enough and have faith in yourself, you can overcome any challenge in life, Norris added.

Born in 1940 and growing up in a small town in Oklahoma, Chuck grew up watching stars like John Wayne, Roy Rogers, and Hopalong Cassidy, so it’s not surprising he ended up being one of Hollywood’s all-time greatest action stars.

When he graduated high school in 1958, Norris served with the United States Air Force and was stationed at Osan Air Base in South Korea. He joined as an air policeman and planned to train as a security police.

His time in the Air Force would significantly improve the course of his life.

He acquired his insane martial arts talents there, obtaining a black belt in Tang Soo Do, a style of Korean karate, where he also received the moniker “Chuck.”

After serving in South Korea, Norris was relocated to an air force base in Riverside County, California, where he remained a member of the air police until his discharge as an airman first class in 1962.

He founded a martial arts school in Torrance, California, where he resided while on the waiting list to become a police officer. His success as a martial artist was exploding, and his studios were growing. Practicing independently, he won his first title in 1968 and held the title of Karate World Champion for six years, retiring in 1974.

Chuck encountered American actor and martial artist Bruce Lee while teaching martial arts to famous people. This encounter led to Chuck’s breakthrough role as Lee’s adversary in the 1972 movie The Way of the Dragon.

After landing the lead roles in Breaker! Breaker! (1977) and Good Guys Wear Black (1978), Norris experienced massive global success, thrilling fans with incredible strength and agility.

When visiting the set of the hit show Walker, Texas Ranger (1993 to 2001), Wilma said of her son, “The greatest that there is…He is. He was always my sweet one when he was small.”

Chuck, a grandfather to 13 and a father of five learned in 1990 that he had a daughter born from an affair while married to Dianne Kay Holechek (divorced in 1989). Dina was born in 1963, and he only met her after a letter she mailed to his home. Though he had initial reservations about meeting the woman, who said, “Mother said you were married, and we shouldn’t interfere with your family.” When Chuck finally got a chance to meet her, he had this to say about it: “I look at her, and it’s so amazing because I’m looking at her, and she’s staring at me, and we just sort of gravitate toward each other, and we just went into each other’s arms and started crying.”

Chuck’s admiration and love for his mother are evident in his success as an actor and family man.

Regarding Wilma’s parenting counsel, she said, “Give them lots of love. Bring them to Sunday services and church. However, as you can see, God didn’t give us our kids. He only temporarily loaned them to us.

Happy Mother’s Day to Wilma! We hope your son is right and you have many years to celebrate!

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