Sweet Grandma Norma

As I posted early in the summer, this year we lost my sweet Grandma Norma.  It was truly a blessing to get to see her go to heaven as she fought for several years with dementia and is finally up in heaven, I am sure right next to Grandpa Rusty, just as she should be.  Below, is her obituary and the talk I gave at the funeral.  I just had a few people ask me to post this, and hopefully someday my kids will find this an interesting piece of their history.  Their GREAT grandma was quite a lady.  Above she is pictured with Sawyer, who is undeniably a RICHARD.  The most heart breaking thing for me was that she was too far gone by the time I had children to know my kids.  She would have adored them all but I know this little red head would have held a special place in her heart, as she was a red head and so was my grandpa (Rusty...ha) and all 4 of his brothers.  Can you imagine the trouble my Great Grandma Cora had to deal with??? AH!  One is all I can handle right now, haha!  I wish I had a pic to post of her in her younger years, she was a beauty!!  Love you Grandma.  You were are someone I would like to shape my life after and I am so blessed to have been your granddaughter.  You are missed and loved.

Norma Elaine (Newsham) Richard passed away May 28, 2013 at The Arbors of Lincoln at 9:30 in the morning.  Norma was 85 years, 3 months and 13 days old.  She was born on a farm west of Ashland on February 15, 1928 to George R. and Genevieve (Marks) Newsham.

Norma attended District 41 rural school and graduated in 1945 from Ashland High School and in 1973 from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.  She continued her life long love of learning with a career in education for 20 years.  Thirteen were teaching in rural schools and seven for the Ashland-Greenwood Schools.  Even when she formally left teaching in 1980 to work for Sapp Brothers Petroleum, she was a welcome sight at the Elementary school as Mrs. Claus each Christmas, always sharing her talents as a poised speaker and animated reader.

On July 29, 1951, she was united in marriage to Raymond L. Richard.  They celebrated just shy of 56 wonderful years together before Rusty passed away July 26, 2006.  Norma was the true definition of devoted wife, who well understood the meaning of “in sickness and in health” spending countless hours caring for and supporting her husband.  To their union four children were born: Douglas, Wayne, Bradley and Connie.  Their first home was in Aurora, Nebraska, later moving to Lincoln where they spent 11 years.  In 1967 the family moved to Ashland where they resided until Rusty passed.  Both Norma & Rusty loved their hometown and were well invested in it.  Norma was a member of the Ashland United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Women and she held many offices, including Matthews Chapter #42 O.E.S., Chapter BD, P.E.O. President, member of the Ashland Arts Council and member of the Ashland-Greenwood School Foundation Board.  She was also the Ashland Stir-Up queen.  Norma was more than generous with her time and talents as a community member, neighbor and friend.  She was also never short on cookies, baked goods or homemade rolls if you dropped by for a visit or meal.

Norma is survived by sons and daughter-in-law; Douglas and Renee’ of Lincoln, NE;  Wayne and Suzanne of Naperville, IL;  Bradley and LuAnn of rural Ceresco; and Daughter and son-in-law Connie and Mark Hanson of Wayne, NE;  grandchildren: Robert and Rochelle Richard, Abigail and Ryan Eccleston, Andrew and Julie Richard, Alison Richard, Michael Richard, Stacey and Mike Sanders, Megan Richard, Jennifer and Cody Bobolz and Nathan Hanson; seven great grandchildren: Reagan Richard, Griffin, Sawyer and Crosbi Eccleston, Cooper and Claire Richard and Kennedy Bobolz; one brother, Jerry (wife Jan) Newsham of rural Ashland and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.  She was preceded in death by her parents George and Genevieve Newsham, husband Raymond Richard, brother Dale, of Lincoln, sisters-in-law Nerine Newsham (wife of Dale) and Roberta Newsham (wife of Jerry), and George M Newsham (newphew).

 From the funeral:

I am sure you have all had a moment where one of your five senses serves as a time machine and takes you right into a memory, like for an instant you are actually in a place so scared and happy and you haven’t literally moved an inch.  The hoppy chorus of certain songs can take me right back to my college dorm and the smell of strong coffee brewing transports me to my parents kitchen in the early hours of morning.  Taste is a big one for me though.  I consider myself to be somewhat of a “foodie” and by that I don’t mean I’m a gourmet food coinsure, I just mean that I love food.  And I am pretty sure that my obsession with all things delicious started at my Grandma Richards house.  Give me a bite of a gooey caramel roll or a snickers bar or green bean casserole and there’s only one place I go…tucked safe and sound into the kitchen of my grandparents yellow house, right in the middle of Ashland, Nebraska.  And that is such a sweet spot to be, if even for just a minute.  Food was something that my Grandma used to show and spread love.  She was the first person I ever heard talk about food, well before the days of the cooking channel, in a way that signified that each item she was making was because it was someone’s favorite or met someone’s special dietary requirement.  She worked tirelessly so that each family member arrived to a meal with their favorite dish displayed on the table. For me it was always orange fluff, but if I am being honest, how could I narrow it down to one thing.  Others in our family are crazy for her homemade pizza, roast and potatoes, from scratch runzas, dinner rolls and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the famous Christmas cookie platter which took her weeks to assemble and was overflowing with sweet sugary confections.  She planned menus for weeks before an event, writing endless lists, and scanning her recipe books and magazines for ideas.  She sent my grandpa to the store and enlisted him to prep for hours on end as she blended, baked, rolled, cut and mixed.  At the end, no one beamed with more pride than my Grandpa over the feast she had created.  They were quite a team.  The term “labor of love” is the only way I think I can describe a family dinner at her house and if you knew my grandma, you know this is how she approached everything that she did, she always labored with love.  She took on life with determination, a fine attention to detail, a sun up to sun down and beyond work ethic, a cleanliness which was next to Godliness…she was organized and prepared and ready with notes and clever tid bits she had collected, and most importantly she had a deep desire to serve and bring joy to those she loved and those who needed to be shown love and she loved the Lord with her whole heart.

To be honest, even with all these amazing qualities, it still boggles my mind how she got to everything.  She was a farm girl who fell in love with an adorable red head.  She was the mother of 3 wild boys and one sweet baby girl.  She was the wife of a diabetic, and being one myself I know the sacrifice and fear and trails that the spouse of one faces day in and day out.  She was a working mom and she went back to school to earn her degree in the midst of all of that chaos.  She was a teacher and a friend and the president of PEO.  She was a baker, a record keeper, and a snow village collector.  She was the hostess with the mostest, always running to the treasure trove she called the deep freeze for a treat she could thaw for last minute company.  She was Mrs. Claus and Mrs. Richard.  She was a gem and one of kind and I am just grateful to haven known her.

With Grandma leaving us here on this side of heaven I see the generations handing over the baton and things shifting.  Our family is changing and as weddings and babies spring up our family is growing.  What gives me an ache in the pit of my stomach is to know that my kids won’t know this truly remarkable woman who happens to be their great grandmother.  But then I realize that something as simple as what to make for dinner can turn into an opportunity to share Norma with the next generation.  So every time I make one of my kids favorites for dinner, every time I sit down to scheme and dream out my Christmas card for the year, every time I read a story to my babies in an animated voice or tuck away notes, photos and documents in labeled boxes so that they will have them someday, every time I pull out treats to serve to company (even if mine are store bought), every time I cherish the fact the there is finally a baby girl in my arms to buy baby dolls for, every time I fall more in love with the sprinkle of freckles that are spreading across the bridge of my own little red heads nose and give into his mischievous grin, every time I shake my head in an exhausted smile over my boys, every time I work really hard to accomplish something or do something kind for someone else I have a little bit of Norma right with me.  And my kids will naturally know her even though it’s not in a tangible human form.  We will pass her down to the next generation, to Regan, Griffin, Sawyer, Crosbi, Cooper, Claire, Kennedy and any other “baby Richards” that may come along through small acts of generosity and love and lots of stories. 

My grandma lived the kind of life that God asks of us…full of joy and full of getting through the hard things and coming out stronger and full of dependence on him.  That is a life to be celebrated and I pray that through my actions for the rest of my days I will do just that.

Thank you for coming to celebrate the life of my grandma and I know nothing would honor her more than for you to go home this week and make someone you love their favorite cookie.