Helen L. Norris

Helen L. Norris, 90, of St. Paul, died at 11:44 p.m., Friday, May 25, 2012 at the Prairie Mission Retirement Village in St. Paul.

She was born December 14, 1921 at Walnut, Kansas to Thomas J. and Celia J. (Reeves) Marnell. She grew up and attended school there and graduated from Walnut High School. She then attended the Parsons Junior College and the Pittsburg State Teacher's College. She taught in rural schools from 1940 to 1947.

On January 3, 1946, she was united in marriage to James Kenneth Norris at the St. Patrick Catholic Church in Walnut. He preceded her in death on May 16, 2012. They lived and farmed in the rural Walnut area for their entire working life.

She was a former member of the St. Patrick Catholic Church in Walnut and now the St. Francis Catholic Church at St. Paul, Kansas. She was a member of the Altar Society and the Daughters of Isabella. She was also a member of the American Legion Auxiliary at Walnut and had been president in the past. She was also a member of the 8 & 40 at Pittsburg.

She loved cooking, gardening, quilting and crocheting.

Survivors include, five sons, Jim and his wife, Charlene Norris of Walnut, Kansas, Nick and his wife, Janice Norris of Grove, Oklahoma, Chris and his wife, Mary Beth Norris of Girard, Kansas, Paul and his wife, Vickie Norris of Pittsburg, Kansas and Don and his wife, Kim Norris of Erie, Kansas; One daughter, Joan and her husband, Mike Doherty of St. Paul, Kansas; Twenty grandchildren; Twenty-eight great-grandchildren. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, four brothers and two sisters.

Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at the St. Francis Catholic Church in St. Paul. The Rosary will be prayed at 6:30 p.m., Monday at the church. The family will receive friends following the Rosary. Friends may call at the church after 1:00 p.m., Monday. Memorials are suggested to the Prairie Mission Retirement Village and these may be left at the church or mailed to the Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home, P.O. Box 374, Parsons, Ks 67357.

The following eulogy was written by Helen's granddaughter Jill.

Thank you for coming. If you spent anytime at all with my grandma Helen, you already know she was a very special person. Thinking back on her life, I can't help but speak of her complete dedication to her family and her faith. Her faith, tested and proven while she and her husband, my grandpa Ken, raised five boys; Jim, Nick, Chris, Paul, and Donny, and one girl, my mother Joan. Her children then made her a grandmother twenty times over, who then gave her twenty eight great-grandchildren. As her family grew, so did her unconditional love. She made sure our needs were met; nurturing our bodies with wonderful homemade meals, and nurturing our souls with her spiritual guidance and faith in God. She also took great pride in serving her church family as well. She was a shining example of giving of her time and talent to St. Patrick's church in Walnut, and here at St. Francis. I cannot speak of unconditional love without validating her marriage to my grandpa Ken. Their journey together gives a new meaning to the commitment "til death do us part". As their physical conditions began to decline, their souls began to shine. With every cross she bore in the last two years, she still managed a smile, squeeze a hand, and reach for her husband , Ken. Her ability to speak was taken from her, but with her husband, her soul mate, words were not needed. They spent nine days apart, but are now together again eternally. We, the great big Norris family keep them alive every day, as each one of us are who they made us to be. "I love you grandma"

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