Norma L Smithson

The Lord called home his ever faithful servant, Norma Louise Smithson on

December 13th, 2021. She was a young and active 96.
Norma was born to Frank and Mamie Bothast Byrum on April 25, 1925.
She was the middle child and the only daughter. She was a lifelong resident
of Union City and a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church.
Norma started her education in a small country school but was then
transferred to the school in Union City. She always preferred her little country
school to the big city school because she missed her friends and it was smaller
but she worked hard, made new friends and graduated in 1943 from Union City
High School. When Norma was just 16 the country went to war. She participated
in paper drives, scrap metal drives, rubber drives, rationing and worked at the
local blind factory. In 1944 Norma and her sister- in- law, Kate Byrum, went to
work at the Union City Body Company. Workers were needed because so many
of the men had been called to serve overseas. These two woman and many
others kept the Body Company running so that it could survive until the war
ended. Norma earned 50 cents an hour as a stock chaser and loved every minute
of it. When the war ended and the men came home, she gave her job back to a
returning soldier and went back to her regular life but cherished the friends she
made and good times they had at the factory.
Norma was introduced to her future husband Dwain, who was 10 years
older, by her Aunt Nellie Marsh. Norma worked for Nellie at the Marsh Grocery
Store in Ridgeville, where she made $11.00 a week. Dwain wanted a girl who
didn’t drink, smoke or carry-on and Norma was that girl. After dating a
while, Dwain asked her to marry him and she said yes. He asked if the age
difference bothered her and she replied “ Why no, I love you.” Dwain and Norma
were married on August 25, 1946 and remained married for 54 year until his
passing in 2000. Norma thoroughly loved being a wife and homemaker. She loved
cooking, cleaning, painting and even did outside work like mowing the lawn,
raking leaves, trimming bushes and shoveling snow. She also enjoyed paint-by-
number and updating her home. She did all these things until the age of 90.
Norma believed everything has its place, making your bed every day is mandatory
and everyone should keep their house spic and span and their yard immaculate.
If you were ever in her home or drove past her house you could see she lived up
to her own standards. Once she could not do all the things she loved around her
home, she decided to sell her house and moved into American Heritage Assisted
Living in Union City in October of 2015.
Norma and Dwain never had children of their own but were like a second Mom
and Dad to their many nephews, nieces and cousins. Full of laughter, love and
fun, she was always kind, caring, compassionate and understanding and was
always there to babysit or attend one of their activities. She was a shining
example of a true Christian woman who loved God and her family with all her
heart. She never thought of herself, only the well-being of others.
Left to cherish her memory is nephew Larry (Carol) Byrum of Sebring, Fl.,
niece Pam Stikeleather of Union City, In., great nephews Jerry Byrum of
Dayton, OH. and Eric (Laura) Moore of Ridgeville, In., great nieces Jamie (Brian)
Vickery of Chicago, IL. , Michelle (Nate Bothast) Willingham of Union City, In.,
Brittany (Matt) Hodges of Union City, In., and Kim Luedike Able of Ft. Myers, Florida,
close cousins Rodney (Patricia) Bothast of Peoria, Il. , Jean (Steven) Bickel of
Indianapolis and Dolly (Steve) Kadinger of Union City, In. She also leaves behind
many friends at American Heritage Assisted Living and at Trinity Lutheran
Church. Norma was a lovely lady inside and out and will be sorely missed.
Norma was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Dwain, her
brother and sister- in- law Bob and Kate Byrum, brother Dick Byrum, who
called her Fee Fee, her niece and her husband Nancy and Hans Luedike, and a
great nephew, Thomas Byrum.
There will be visitation at Reichard’s funeral home in Union City on Friday,
December 17th from 2:00 to 3:00 P.M. with a celebration of life to follow.
Burial will be at Union City Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Paralyzed Veterans of
America, American Heritage Activities Fund at 204 Staudt Drive, Union City,
Indiana, 47390 or the Trinity Lutheran Church.
Online condolences can be expressed at www.reichardfh.com