Elsie Marie Norman was born May 23, 1924 to Aage and Marie Molby in Askov, Minnesota the oldest of five children. Askov was a Danish community and she could read and write Danish before she started school. She attended school at Sandstone, Minnesota and graduated in 1942. She then attended a trade school at Duluth, Minnesota and studied to be a machinist. She got a job at Boeing Airplane Company in Seattle as a machinist operating a milling machine. She was the only woman in that department at Boeings. She worked there for three years and at the end of World War II went to Des Moines, Iowa were she attended Grand View College. It was there she met her future husband, George Norman. After two years at Grand View College she transferred to the University of Minnesota into their school of nursing. George followed her to Minneapolis and attended Hamline University and he graduated from there and continued his graduate studies at the University of Minnesota. She and George were married in 1948.
They had a son, James and daughter, Janet. After moving to Seattle George worked in the industrial engineering department at The Boeing Airplane Company. For fifteen years Elsie worked at Providence Hospital and also for several doctors at a clinic in the Greenwood district. Elsie continued her education and returned to the Seattle Pacific University at age 39 and received a B.A. and M.A. in education and then transferred to the University of Washington specializing in remedial reading. She spent twenty-one years teaching remedial reading at White Center Heights Elementary in the Highline School District, retiring in 1987. Elsie spent a lifetime of teaching and serving her community and loved every minute of it.
Elsie was a member of St. John Lutheran Church and Luther Memorial Lutheran Church. In retirement she volunteered at the Nordic Heritage Museum working in their gift shop. She also volunteered at the Foss Nursing Home and she helped with the tutoring at Broadview-Thompson elementary school. She was also very active with the Northwest Danish Association. Elsie lost her beloved husband George in 2007. She was also preceded in death by her parents; sister, Florence Studnek; and brothers Carl and Alfred.
She is survived by her son, James (Merle) and granddaughter Annamarie, of Richmond Beach; daughter, Janet (Randy) Scallan of Seattle; brother Arnold Molby (Esther) of Zephyrhills Florida; Sister-in-law Terese Molby of Brainerd, Minnesota, and many loved nieces and nephews.
Remembrances may be made to The Alzheimer’s Association, or St. John United Lutheran Church. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm on Thursday, April 3rd at St. John United Lutheran Church 5515 Phinney Ave. North, Seattle, WA 98103.
Arrangements under the direction of Acacia Memorial Park & Funeral Home, Seattle, Washington.
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