Jean Baker Norman

September 28, 1924 - August 28, 2009

Obituary

In Loving Memory
Martha Jean Baker Norman
September 28, 1924 – August 28, 2009

Martha Jean Baker Norman was born in Glendive, Montana, on Sunday, September 28, 1924. She weighed less than four pounds and was carried around on a pillow in a shoe box.

Jean was the third child born to Ouida Augusta Van Dyke Baker and Charles ‘Walton’ Baker. She had two older sisters, Frances and Betty, and two younger siblings, Charlotte and Jack.

She graduated from Dawson County High School in 1942 and attended Dawson County Junior College, where she met her future husband. Jean and Jack both attended the same high school but Jean said they were in different circles and never got to know each other. In June 1943, Jack enlisted in the Navy. Jean enlisted in the Navy Waves in April 1945 beginning active service in June. She wrote that boarding a women’s troop train to Bronx, New York, was a big step in her life, and she had quite a send off. Her brother was too young to be in the military, so her family was proud to display the military service emblem in the window of their home in her honor. Jean requested a transfer from the Bronx to San Francisco because Jack’s ship, the USS Harrison which had been serving off the coast of Japan, was to return to the west coast following Japan’s surrender on August 15th. However, at the last minute, his ship steamed through the Panama Canal and put into port at Charleston, South Carolina, on November 3rd. Jack had to spend his leave hitchhiking cross country to San Francisco. Jack and Jean were secretly married by a Navy chaplain on November 28, 1945. They had only a couple of days together before Jack had to return to his ship. At the end of World War II Jack was discharged in March and Jean in June of 1946. They were married in a second formal church ceremony on August 20, 1946, in Glendive.

They moved to Bozeman where Jack attended Montana State College, graduating in June 1950. Their first child, Barbara, was born in Bozeman in June 1947. They lived sparsely in a walk-up apartment with a hot plate for cooking and used a bicycle for transportation. But, they didn’t feel deprived because that was the norm for all their college friends.

After graduation Jack landed a high school teaching job in the very small town of Rosebud, Montana—a town with gravel streets, one phone in town at the grocery store, and a graduating senior class of 3 to 5 students. Jack and Jean’s first house took a page from the pioneer days. The cooking stove was wood fired with a side compartment for heating water, and a pot bellied stove was the only heat source. With the arrival of their second daughter, Sharon, in January 1951, Jean found herself scrubbing diapers on a scrub board in a tub and hanging them to dry—sometimes freezing on the line in cold weather. Thankfully the family soon moved into a house with hot and cold running water, central heat, and an old wringer type washing machine in the basement. Son Bruce was born in November 1953. The clichés about the warmth and caring of small town folks were true, as the friendships forged in Rosebud endured for over 55 years.

In 1955 Jack was hired as a Boeing engineer, and the townspeople of Rosebud gathered to send the family off to Seattle. The trusty Plymouth pulling a fully loaded utility trailer came close to rivaling the Beverly Hillbillies and arrived in Seattle during rush hour on Aurora Avenue. Dear Glendive friends came to the rescue, putting the Normans up for two months in their modest three-bedroom rambler along with their own family which also included three small children. Both families also had another baby on the way. In August of 1955 the Normans moved into their brand new three-bedroom house in Bow Vista near the Seattle-Tacoma Airport and daughter, Patty, was welcomed in January 1956. Jean was an active stay-at-home mom, and the children were very involved in school and church activities. Jean, Jack and family were charter members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, and Jean’s Christian faith was a cornerstone in her life.

Jean became a widow at 43 when Jack died of Hodgkin’s disease. She still had two children at home and one just heading off to college. Jean faced adversity again in her life when son Bruce sustained life-threatening injures in a car accident while serving in the Air Force in Phoenix in 1976. In the years that followed Jean’s tenacity in pursuing the rehabilitative care she felt Bruce required was formidable.

Even though Jean faced hardships in her life, she remained strong in spirit. As one friend put it, she had a definite joie de vivre that was contagious. Her children remember her as someone who enjoyed people and was a social dynamo. She had an inquisitive nature and was an interesting conversationalist. She loved a good joke and a good party. She was not known to wear a lampshade on her head, but she did love to see if anyone would notice that she had two different earrings on or two different shoes, or whether she was wearing a pair of glasses that had no lenses. She delighted in old movies and loved gardening and had a special passion for roses. She tended roses of friends wherever she went and her children all know to always make the cut after the 5th leaf. She made yummy strawberry shortcake with Bisquick, real whipped cream and loads of sweet berries. Lemon meringue pie and cream puffs from scratch were specialties. The Norman house was neighborhood central, and Jean was always tuned into what the kids were doing, often much to their chagrin. She was forever trying to round up her clothespins after all the neighborhood kids used them to make tents out of blankets flung over the jungle gym in the back yard. She had the best costume box and props ever, and many a puppet show or neighborhood bicycle and wagon parade was launched from the Norman’s. May Day was a big deal in Montana but not so much in Seattle. But before long all the neighborhood kids caught on and were having a great time making paper cone baskets, filling them with pretty flowers. Then came the exciting part of hanging the baskets on a neighbor’s front door knob, ringing the bell and running like crazy. There would be kids doing the same thing all over the place, and it was a wild, fun scene. Everyone would try to guess who left which basket or try to catch them in the act. Birthday parties were great. One year Jean made a money birthday cake, but the kids were more interested in digging for the hidden money than eating the cake, so that was a mess and the end of that. She organized the best scavenger hunts, excelling at coming up with great lists of things to find. It was so friendly back then and everyone joined in the fun and nobody seemed to mind having a pack of kids show up at their door, in a big hurry with a big list, making an odd request. Jean loved chocolate and would hide her stash around the house so her kids would conduct their own scavenger hunting expeditions to hunt down the hiding places. Even with four children Jean managed to have her girls ribboned and curled and dressed in frills and flounces for every special occasion—even hats and white gloves for Easter, and these were in the days before permanent press. Christmas Day and New Year’s Day Jean would answer the phone with ‘Merry Christmas!’ or ‘Happy New Year!’ all day long. Of course, growing up her kids thought it was silly and embarrassing but now regard it as a festive and fun thing to do. Jean loved travel, but not the ‘cookie cutter’ way. She took many and varied road trips with friends, oftentimes in a van, all across the United States and up to Alaska. She especially loved Hawaii and Canon Beach on the Oregon coast.

Jean loved her family and her friends. She had compassion and empathy for others. It is hard to distill the essence of a person in a few words, but the following poem seems to illustrate her approach to life and how she reached out to people.

A little surprise that’s unexpected,
A call that reminds us we’re not neglected,
A kind little deed that makes a load lighter
A warm little message that makes a day brighter,
A hand that comforts with a gentle touch,
A word or a smile that mean so much….
The special little joys of living
Are year-round reasons for thanksgiving!
Author Unknown

Jean is survived by her children, Barbara Jon Sholberg of Belfair, Washington, Sharon Norman of Eugene, Oregon, Bruce Elisa Norman of Waxahachie, Texas, and Patricia Ron Merz of Hood River, Oregon; one sister, Charlotte Roberts of Burien, Washington, and brother Jack Pat Baker of Glendive, Montana; eight grandchildren, Eric and Mark Sholberg, Scott and Dresden Merz, Rachel Norman, and Fred, Sam and Joe Vincent; two great-grandchildren, Kristin and Callen Sholberg; numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband Jack and sisters Frances Baker and Betty Schultz.

Memorial Service
2:00 p.m., Saturday, September 5, 2009
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church
Burien, Washington

Burial
Washington Memorial Park
Sea Tac, Washington

Remembrances may be made to a favorite charity.

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Nancy BARKER Swanson
Nancy BARKER Swanson
5 years ago

Growing up in the Bow Lake neighborhood was so wonderful because of moms like “Mrs. Norman”. I’m sorry that I missed her celebration of life and sharing fond moments of days gone by with the family. The article on Jean’s life was so well written and I enjoyed her life’s story. Looking at Jean’s Navy photo I must say I see another beauty Ms. Sharon – very much like your mom. In sympathy and love, Nancy

Rick Nakagaki
Rick Nakagaki
5 years ago

Mrs. Norman was there for us as young men looking for our place in life; she was always nice and yet gave us directions on conduct that stayed with us as we grew up and moved on to adulthood. I’d say that other than my mother; Mrs. Fay, Mrs. Jackson, Mrs. Strand and Mrs. Norman were great influences on me and represend to me what mothers were all about.

Pastor David Herwick
Pastor David Herwick
5 years ago

God bless the family and grant you pease. Shalom, Pastor Herwick

Portia Grillo Smith
Portia Grillo Smith
5 years ago

I’m so very sorry to hear of your mom’s passing. I wish I could have been with you to celebrate her life. I just read the memorial. It was beautiful. When ever I saw her she always had pictures to share. She was very proud of her family

Sue Ditmore Bunn
Sue Ditmore Bunn
5 years ago

Jean was special….always ready and willing to have fun. She loved my mother dearly and never forgot to call me on mom’s special day, St. Patrick’s Day. We’d chuckle over the nights the three of us walked the streets of Bow Vista, even in the snow, visiting the neighbors and carrying a bottle to share. Jean was a jewel and a joy. I miss her already. Sue

Carol Ricketts
Carol Ricketts
5 years ago

Although I haven’t seen Jean in years, I still think of her fondly.

My thoughts are with her family.

Barbara Bogert Kramer
Barbara Bogert Kramer
5 years ago

Barbara, Sharon, Bruce and Patty; Your mother and I would meet at the grocery store and “visit”. I will always remember the pride she had in her children. She was always a kind and caring friend to my parents – Gerald and Tina Bogert. You are in thoughts and prayers.