Norma Jean (Dirks) Wymore

   Norma J. Wymore, age 87, of Cambridge, passed away at the CHI Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney on Monday, August 26, 2021.  Norma Jean Wymore was born November 5, 1933, in Atwood, Kansas.  She was the oldest of five siblings and was a very good sister to brothers Donald, Marvin, sister Alice and baby brother Daniel.  Family was so very important to her and she spent much time with her siblings throughout her years.  In the last seven years of her life she enjoyed almost every Sunday with Alice and brother-in-law Ron Howard and Dan.

   Norma attended grades 1-12 in Atwood, Kansas.  Norma was a straight A student in all of her school career.  As a teenager she was very proud of being a lifeguard and a swim teacher at the Atwood Lake.  Norma was a very good swimmer.  After graduating from Atwood High School in 1951, she began working as a telephone switchboard operator.  She was very good at this job, because she had a great memory and once she heard a telephone number, it was locked in her head.

   Norma married Virgil F. Versch in August of 1952.  To this union Janet and James were born.  In 1958 they bought a house in Lincoln, Nebraska and there they raised their family.  Norma worked full time as the manager of the credit department in Lincoln’s Montgomery Wards store. In 1965, Norma began working as the secretary of Culler Middle School in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Norma had always wanted to be a teacher and after sharing this with the principal at that school, he talked her into pursuing school at the University of Nebraska. Norma started attending classes part time at the UNL graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education in 1972.  At the same time, she worked full time, was a mom, wife, took care of the house and meals and studied late into the night after her family all went to bed.  She graduated with a master’s degree in Education from UNL in 1976. She later obtained her Specialization in Education with Administration and Supervision in 1984.

   Norma was a fantastic teacher.  It was her passion.  She said her favorite grade to teach was third grade because the students were older, and you could teach them new and more things, but they were still young enough that they loved her.  Norma enjoyed their many hugs and bright smiling faces.  Norma went on to become a Media Specialist.  This way she could enjoy every student in the building.  Norma worked in education up until 1998.

   COFFEE!  Norma loved to have a cup of coffee with at least one friend a day all of her adult life. Norma always had many friends.  She knew all of her neighbors on the block in Lincoln.  No one was ever a stranger to Norma, she would introduce herself first to someone new, and when that person left, they had a new friend in Norma.  Norma was a very happy person who loved people.  She was a very giving person with a generous heart.  She was always willing to help or serve where she was needed.  Norma was a very sociable person.  She loved to play Bridge, many card games and board games.  Norma loved to plan picnics, meals, get-togethers with her family, relatives, friends and neighbors.  Almost every Sunday afternoon you would find company at Norma’s house all through her life.

   In August of 1982, Norma married Harvey E. Minnick and moved to Cambridge, Nebraska.  She embraced the small-town life and became involved in the community.  Harvey and Norma had much fun together.  They both loved to go dancing and they went on many trips together in and out of the country.  Norma said that every morning when they woke up, Harvey would always say to her, “There is my pretty Norma.”  That meant a lot to her.

   After Harvey’s death, Norma married Marvin Wymore in October of 2000.  They built a new home about a mile north of Cambridge.  Norma loved living on the “farm”.  She so enjoyed her friendships with Don Harding, Pat Harding, Mike Kubik, Tim Petersen and many other local farmers.  Norma enjoyed being a part of the yearly planting, fertilizing and harvesting of the crops.

   Janet, Steve and their children and grandchildren visited Norma at least four times a year for 39 years.  Cambridge became like a second home to them.  James, Judy and their children and their grandchildren went to Cambridge every December for 39 years to celebrate Christmas with Norma.  Norma was a good daughter, she was very close to her mother, Vera.  She was a wonderful and loving mother.  Janet says that she was the best mom ever!  Norma was a fantastic and fun grandmother with all her grandchildren, the great and the great-great, too.  She was interested in each one of them and their lives.  Every single one of them was special to her.

   Norma had an accident with her car July 7, 2020.  This put her in the hospital for many months.  But, Norma was a fighter, and she worked very hard through many medical procedures, therapies and pain to get back to the life as she once knew it and the independence that she so enjoyed.   It meant so very much to her to be able to drive herself around town (“Look out!  Here comes Norma!”), work at the thrift store, coffee and eat out with her many friends, go to church, go to her club meetings and play Dominoes again!

   There is a bible verse framed and hanging in Norma’s house.  It says, “Most Of All, Let Love Guide Your Life” Col 3:14  That is exactly how Norma lived her life.  She did a very good job living on earth and doing what God wanted her to do.

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