Friends
and family would like to remember Shell Point resident, Norma Lanpher, who
passed away on April 18, 2005. Norma is portrayed by her grandchildren and
children as devoted, generous, feisty, lovable, encouraging, funny, reliable,
and indomitable. Some of these expressions may be contradictory, but Norma was
diverse in her expressions of life. She was proud of her family and committed to her husband, Weston, to whom she was married for 59 years.
In 1935 at the bottom of the depression she and Weston moved the family to Michigan from Missouri with two babies and all their life's goods tucked into one car. This move changed their whole future as they became part of a migration of southern families to the heart of the automobile industry in Michigan, a place where they faced discrimination since there were places of employment and housing where, "No southerners need apply."
In
this move, Weston, raised to be a farmer in rural Missouri, became part of the
automobile industry as a skilled craftsman in automobile body repair, a wartime
factory employee and after the war finally returning to his craft in body
repair. Norma often described herself as the "original cotton picker." She
never longed to return to the hard life she knew as a teenager in the cotton
fields.One of the big changes in the family's life was the discovery of The Christian and Missionary Alliance for the family's church association. Norma was active in her church as a Sunday school teacher, deaconess, Women's group leader, and Pioneer Girls Pal. She never failed to respond to her church's call for service, and would fry chicken wings by the hundreds, cook roast beef dinners for the entire church, and bake cinnamon rolls for youth retreats.
Her favorite food groups were chocolate, Pepsi and Chicken McNuggets! For the family, she was often called upon to whip up her specialties: strawberry-rhubarb pie, bubble bread and Texas sheet cake.
Norma came to Shell Point in 1992 following the death of her husband. This decision came when she realized at 77, that living alone in Michigan winters was going to become something that she could not do.
When she arrived at Shell Point in January 1992 she found a group of friends from up north already waiting for her, plus, others that she knew from her long time association with The Christian and Missionary Alliance. These residents welcomed her and helped her adjust to her new life as a widow and a new resident at Shell Point.
Norma was a Cameo Court resident and participated in its life by soon becoming part of the Court welcoming team. While at Cameo she participated in the Stamp Room activities and was a member of the Village Church. At the Village Church she was a deaconess, an AWANA aid listening to children quote Scripture, active in Alliance Women and a door greeter.
In 2000, Norma moved to the third floor of the King's Crown. Her avid reading and crossword puzzles kept her occupied and she enjoyed visiting with staff at the nurses' station and eating in the King's Crown dining room. The staff and nurses found her humor exceptional in spite of minor difficulties she encountered fighting the frustrations of memory decline. It was during this time she often would remark, "The best thing I ever did was to move to Shell Point!"
In December, Norma moved to The Pavilion where she received loving care until her passing on April 18th.
Norma is well-remembered by her four surviving Bishop sisters and two brothers, as well as her son and daughter, three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
A clue to Norma's world view was found in the front of one of her Bibles. She had felt that for 13 years this was just the place for her at this time in her life. She understood the concept of Life Care, and as her health and memory declined she would often say, "Shell Point is going to take care of me." It was home, her home, and a big jump for the daughter of a sharecropper to be a resident at Shell Point!
According to her son Bill, who is also a resident here at Shell Point, "There is only praise for the services and ministries that the Shell Point Staff provided my mother. In particular, those nurses and staff who saw her every day at King's Crown for almost four years were very special people in her life and are in our family's estimation, 'Angels sent from Heaven!'"
"The staff at the Pavilion and also in the Hospice seemed to find Mom still witty in spite of the medical and memory difficulties she faced during her last three months. Their show of compassion and tears at her passing show they give of their own souls to those under their care."
