Tapper, Norma J. (1924-2017)
TAPPER, ABBAS, COOPER
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 2/17/2017 at 16:10:08
Norma J. Tapper
April 19, 1924 - January 07, 2017Norma June Tapper, 92, of Leland, Iowa, formerly of rural Titonka, Iowa, died on Saturday, January 7, 2017, at the Good Samaritan Center in Forest City, Iowa.
A daughter of Anno and Anna (Cooper) Abbas, Norma was born on April 19, 1924, at Kanawha, Iowa. When she was three, the family moved to a farm near Woden. At the age of 16, she accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior and joined the Woden Christian Reformed Church.
Norma’s education began at Orthel Township No. 2 School for her first eight years. Four years later, she graduated from Woden High School. Next, she attended Waldorf College, earning a two-year degree. Much later (after marriage and children), she earned a B.A. in Elementary Education from Mankato State College.
Norma found her greatest delight in playing the piano. She began taking lessons at the age of four and continued right through her college years, accompanying the Waldorf choir and playing for chapel and many other occasions. She taught a number of piano students as a junior in high school and continued giving lessons until she retired from teaching.
In her first teaching assignment, Norma taught first and second grade at Blairsburg. After one year, however, she moved to Titonka where she taught third grade for three years. One day while roller skating in Titonka, she met Donald Tapper. They married on February 3, 1948, at the Woden Christian Reformed Church and lived on the family farm southwest of Buffalo Center for many years. Norma joined the Ramsey Reformed Church, serving as church organist and junior and senior choir director. In addition, she taught catechism, Sunday school, and vacation Bible school, and she served in various capacities in several church women’s ministries.
Norma and Donald were blessed with two children: Paul and Bonna Rae. After starting her family, Norma returned to the classroom in Titonka, teaching second grade. She taught a total of twenty-four years in Titonka before retiring in 1987. In 1989, she and Donald moved to Fairfield Bay, Arkansas. Thirteen years later, they returned to Leland, Iowa, to live closer to their daughter. They became members of the First Baptist Church in Forest City, enjoying the new church family they would come to love.
Norma is survived by her two children: Paul (Linda) and Bonna Rae (Brian); and four grandchildren: Michelle, Michael (Kate), Curtis (Arlene), and Aric. Norma was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her brother.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, January 14, 2017, at the First Baptist Church, 18508 E Hwy 9, Forest City, Iowa, with Pastor Eric Weaver officiating. Visitation will take place Saturday morning at 9:00 AM, for two hours before the service at First Baptist Church in Forest City, Iowa. Burial will follow at the Ramsey Reformed Church Cemetery in rural Titonka, Iowa.
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