Norma Jean Isabelle Todd, 90, passed away Friday, April 9, 2021, at her daughter’s home in Las Vegas, Nevada. A memorial service will be Saturday, June 12, 2021, at 10:30 a.m. at the Bates-Gould Chapel in Alliance. Friends and family are invited to a Celebration of Life at the Alliance Eagles Club following the service. Interment will be in the Alliance Cemetery.
Norma was born August 6, 1930, to Karl Phillip and Mary Crystal Koestel in Horace, Kansas. She was one of eleven children. Growing up in the dustbowl of Kansas was a struggle, especially with the loss of her father to cancer at age fourteen and her mother’s on-going battle with epilepsy. However, the strong family bond she shared with her siblings allowed them to persevere through the tough times and they remained close throughout their lives.
In 1951, while working in a café in Kansas, she met a young man from Nebraska, Jerry Todd, and in less than a year, became his wife. The two were united in marriage until his passing in 2009. Together they raised four daughters, Virginia “Jinny” Shoemaker (Fred) of Alliance, Beverly Yeager (Bill) of Huachuca City, AZ, Karen Todd, and Marla Kober (Fred) of Las Vegas, NV. She was preceded in death by her daughter Karen, in 2001. She was the beloved grandmother of eleven grandchildren; Brian Yeager, Jerry Yeager, and Joshua Yeager all of Huachuca City, AZ, Brenda Crouse (Mike) of Rapid City, SD, Troy Shoemaker (Laura) and Travis Shoemaker (Kristy) of Alliance, Trenton Shoemaker (Amanda) of Cibola, TX, John Hendricks (Bobbie) of Dresden, Ohio, Dylan Soester of Las Vegas, NV, and Cionne Soester of New York City, NY. She was also blessed with fourteen great- grandchildren.
Norma is survived by her older sister, Pearl Harris of Tribune, KS and a younger sister, Vera Dinkel of Mesquite, NV, as well as numerous nephews and nieces. In addition to her husband, Jerry, and daughter, Karen, Norma was preceded in death by her grandson, Jeffery Yeager, son-in-law Freddie Shoemaker, son-in-law Bill Yeager, and two great-grandchildren, Brittany Shaver and Dylan Shoemaker.
Throughout her life, Norma worked at a variety of businesses in Alliance including, the Drake Hotel, Woolrich, the Grocery Cart, Bowl More Lanes, and the Good Samaritan. She loved to bowl and participated in numerous leagues with family and friends. She was an avid flower gardener, growing everything from lilies to peonies in her yard, and was known to be an amazing baker and cook.
She loved to surprise others with homemade treats and often invited strangers to sit at her table when they had nowhere else to go. The family was the most important part of Norma’s life. Her greatest joy was spending time with her children, grandchildren, and extended family, planning holiday celebrations and large family gatherings.
In the last few months of her life, Norma was blessed with the knowledge that she had served this life well and was prepared to rejoin her husband, Jerry, and the rest of her family who had passed before her. She left this world knowing that she was loved beyond measure and that her legacy would live on in the lives of her family and friends, forever.