NORMA ELIZABETH SIMPSON

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NORMA ELIZABETH SIMPSON October 24, 1902 - March 3, 2000 Norma, affectionately addressed as Mother, Auntie Norma, Nana or Grandma by her family and younger friends, died at the age of 97. She will be remembered by us all for her loving care and nurturing spirit. Her physical strength was remarkable and she lived on her own until she was 91. She once had a mild heart attack while she slept, then walked to her doctors office several blocks away the next morning to see about it. She was born on a farm in Gays River, N.S. Her father, George was a prosperous farmer in the area and her mother, Annie, was a school teacher. She was the eldest of eight children, and was a living witness to the disastrous Halifax explosion of December 6, 1917 attending school at Shubenacadie, N.S. at the time. She graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1922 and briefly taught school thereafter. In 1923 she married Albert Barnes Simpson, a United Church minister and they moved west to pastoral charges at Beulah, MB, Port Arthur, ON, and Shoal Lake, MB. The couple had four children, Allan, Jean, David and Carolyn and in 1943 they settled on Polson Avenue in Winnipegs north end where she continued to live for the next 50 years. During that time she was a faithful member and contributor to the life and work of St. Johns United Church. After the Second World War she took a practical nursing course and spent the next 30 years working as a private nurse. Her Winnipeg home became well known for the rows of compost nurtured raspberries in the back yard. Visiting family members knew that, in season, at some point during their stay she would hand them a bucket and politely ask them to pick a few berries. In the fall her kitchen was stacked with bottles and ingredients for jam, and each jar was carefully labeled and measured to ensure everyone got an equal share. Nana took great pride in her extended family, whose occupations include lawyers, entrepreneurs, teachers, a doctor, a journalist, a nurse and two United Church ministers. Her eldest grandson, the late Allan John Simpson, received the Order of Canada for his work for the disabled. She is survived by her daughters, Elizabeth Jean Powers and Carolyn Ruth Waldie; her brother Herbert Frame; 11 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. A service celebrating her life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 11 at Westworth United Church, 1750 Grosvenor at Lanark in Winnipeg. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to The Middlechurch Home of Winnipeg Inc., 280 Balderstone Rd., West St. Paul, MB R4A 4A6 or The Allan Simpson Memorial Fund in care of Independent Living Resource Centre, 201 - 294 Portage Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3C 0B9. Cropo Funeral Chapel in care of arrangements, 586-8044.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 11, 2000