Norma Sherard, 97,, has passed away, leaving behind a family and community who loved her dearly.
The chapters of her life were many; these are some of them.
Norma's story began in 1922, and unfolded across the years that followed.
There is a wisdom that only years can give. Norma carried it gently.
Norma Sherard, 97, native of Parker, SD, died on Sunday, January 5, 2020 in Tualatin, OR at the Farmington Square Residential Care Facility. Born Norma Jean Schmidt on November 11, 1922, she was the fifth of 11 children born to Henry and Nettie Schmidt (Duerkson) on a farm north of Marion, SD. The first in her family to attend high school or college, Norma graduated from Dakota Wesleyan University and began teaching in 1942. She met and married Rudolph Poppe in 1944. The couple moved to Parker, SD in 1948 where she taught until 1950 stopping to raise her two children, Tanya (born 1950) and Tony (born 1954). She resumed teaching in 1960. She and Rudy divorced in 1971. Norma married Jack Sherard four years later. They moved to Springfield, OR where they lived until Jack's death in 2011. Norma then lived with her son, Tony and his wife, Jeanette at their home in Tualatin until she entered the Farmington Square facility in 2016. Norma was an accomplished and prolific painter and wood carver producing over 350 images of birds and animals, dozens of hand-painted Christmas ornaments, as well as dolls and doll furniture. Besides her artwork, Norma enjoyed traveling, fishing, skiing, swimming and diving, hosting meals and playing cards with friends. She was active in the New Life Assembly of God Church in Springfield. She is survived by her children, Tanya Loe (John), Tony Poppe (Jeanette), grandchildren Heather Grimes (Derek), Jocelyn Pinkert (David), Josh Poppe, Stuart Loe (Carrie), nine great-grandchildren, her brother Ray Schmidt, and sisters Adella Fogelman and Blondie Ferguson, and numerous nieces and nephews. Norma lived a full life and marveled at the many changes she experienced: born on a subsistence prairie farm without electricity or plumbing, a child of the Great Depression, a teenager as World War Two began — living into the Space Age! A celebration of her life will be scheduled in Parker this summer with interment at Rosehill Cemetery. Arrangemetns by Hofmeister-Jones Funeral Home.
