NORMAN, Margaret M. 1916-2006

NORMAN, DEKKER, SLYFER

Posted By: Tammy (email)
Date: 5/12/2015 at 07:02:08

Margaret M. Norman, 89, of Grundy Center, Iowa, died February 13, 2006, at the home of her daughter while under the care of Cedar Valley Hospice. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 A.M., Saturday, February 18, 2006, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Grundy Center, Iowa, with Monsignor Paul Steimel officiating. Burial will follow at Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Grundy Center, Iowa. Visitation will be Friday, February 17, 2006, at Engelkes-Abels Funeral Home in Grundy Center, from 4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M., where there will be a 5:00 P.M. Rosary followed by a Scriptural Wake Service. A memorial fund has been established.

Margaret was born May 15, 1916, at Brownsdale, Minnesota, the daughter of William and Marie (Slyfer) Dekker. Later they moved to the New Hampton area, Gilbertville and La Porte City area; and moving again to the Whitten area. She received her education at the Melrose #6 School near their home. On January 28, 1937, Margaret was united in marriage to Wallace Norman in the Catholic Church in La Porte City, Iowa. They started their married life farming in the Liscomb area for a time before moving to the Grundy Center area. She was a homemaker and a farmwife working and assisting her husband all through their life together. She was a member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Grundy Center and was active in her church. She belonged to St. Martha and St. Monica's study groups. She enjoyed bird watching and going on birding trips. She enjoyed feeding the birds and watching them in her backyard. She always had a garden; raising vegetables, canning and freezing the fruits of her labor. To finish the beauty of her garden she cared for many kinds of beautiful flowers. Margaret and her husband enjoyed traveling, wintering in Arizona for thirty-two years. They moved from the farm in 1984 to Grundy Center, until moving to Assisted Living because of the failing health of her husband. After her husband Wallace's passing in 2002, she moved to an apartment. She enjoyed spending time with her family and friends. Many hours were spent playing cards with friends. She enjoyed her four grandchildren, spending a lot of time with them while they were growing up. She was also very proud of her two great-grandchildren.

She is survived by her daughter Linda Gibbs and her husband Glenn E. Johnson of Grundy Center, Iowa; four grandsons Command Sergeant Major Timothy Shawn Hippen of Grimes, Iowa-serving in Afghanistan; Stacey L. Hippen and his wife Wendy of Clear Lake, Iowa; Private Jody L. Gibbs and his wife Sarah of Fort Polk, Louisiana; Tony P. Gibbs and his wife Jenn of Grundy Center, Iowa; two great-grandchildren Emery Hippen and Trey Gibbs; three sisters-in-law Marie Pinneo of Springdale, Arkansas, Gwen Norman of Clemmons, Iowa, and Gladys Dekker of Grundy Center, Iowa; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Wallace; a baby daughter Marlene; three sisters Freda Bottema, Johanna Schwarck, Gezenna Loveless; and two brothers Albert and Joe Dekker.

--Abels Funeral Homes (www.abelsfuneralhomes.com)