Dorothy Inez Norberg

Told by her children Gary and Lynn

Dorothy Norberg was born on July 19, 1916 in Sylvies, Oregon, to Bessie and David Craddock. She had one brother named Merle who was six years older. Her father David was a cattle rancher. Bessie was a homemaker in addition to cooking for the men who helped run the ranch.

When Dorothy was only 9, her dad caught the flu and passed away. It was shortly after that that her mother drove Dorothy and Merle to the big city of Seattle to live near Dorothy’s grandfather, who built a house in Ballard where Bessie, Merle and Dorothy would reside. That 80 year old house still stands, and is occupied by the second owner. For income, Bessie became a foster mother to Tommy and Yvonne who quickly became like a real brother and sister to Dorothy.

Dorothy started attending Ballard Baptist church in 1930. Mrs. Miller was her Sunday school teacher and Girls Guild leader. Dorothy went on every possible church picnic and outing. They had many fun activities as Pastor Walter Anderson took them to Golden Gardens and other places. Dorothy was an officer in Young People’s Group when she was in high school. She taught Sunday school a little later. Dorothy was in charge of Daily Vacation Bible School one summer. She was a member of the Philathea Mission Circle organized in 1942. Although she was unable to participate the last several years because of failing health, her heart always remained with Ballard Baptist Church.

Dorothy graduated from Ballard High School, and went on to the University of Washington where she graduated with a double major in Math and German. Dorothy worked in a UW office to help pay for tuition. This was during the Great Depression, and it was a genuine miracle that a poor widow could send her daughter to college. After graduation Dorothy enjoyed teaching math at Canyonville Bible Academy in Canyonville, Oregon for two years, but by then someone more important had come into her life.

Henry Nelson introduced Dorothy to Walter Norberg in 1937, when she was only nineteen. They met at a party at Elim Baptist Church. On Columbus Day of 1940 Dorothy and Walt were married by Pastor Walter Anderson of Ballard Baptist Church. From that time on she was completely dedicated to her husband and family.

In 1942 they welcomed their first child, a son, Gary David Norberg. In 1949, they had a daughter, Lynn Irene Norberg Beardsley. In 1977 Dorothy gained a son in law, Wayne Beardsley, and later she became a loving grandmother to Angela Lynn Beardsley and Jonathan Wayne Beardsley. Dorothy and Walt were happily married and practically inseparable for 63 years.

The most important thing in Dorothy’s life was loving people, especially her family. She loved being a wife and took very good care of her husband. She loved being a mom and enjoyed spending time with Gary and Lynn as she raised them. Being a mother in law was easy - she adored Wayne. Being a grandma was so much fun! No one had as much love for their grandchildren as Dorothy. She played with them - pretend store, pretend car, dolls, matchbook cars, pretend Nordstrom, and even sat in their homemade tents. Once a week, Dorothy had a lunch date with Angela and Jonathan. They went to the neighborhood Bell’s Restaurant, or to Northgate to eat at Ivar’s or Taco Time. After lunch Grandma gave Angela and Jon a stick of gum and a dollar to buy anything they wanted at Pay and Save.

Dorothy belonged to a sewing club of 15 friends who met once a month and also went on short vacations together. The group of friends stayed together over sixty years. Until Dorothy's’ passing, she and Irene Day were the only living members.

Dorothy enjoyed many trips to Hawaii with Walt and Gary, where they often met Henry and Alice Nelson, Lawrence and Gladys Nelson, and other friends from church, to visit and enjoy the warmth and scenery.

Dorothy was also a big Mariner fan, attending several games per season with Walt and Gary.

Dorothy was personally involved in Girl Scouts. She was first a member, and eventually also a Brownie leader. She would help the girls make sachets by putting cloves into apples and rolling them in cinnamon. Then they would wrap the sachet in beautiful fabric and tie it with a bow. She enjoyed taking the troop on camping trips to River Ranch and sleeping in the covered wagons.

Her favorite holiday was always Christmas. There were many beautiful decorations inside, and Walt always draped the outside of the house with multicolored lights. Of course the family purchased the very finest tree they could find at Chubby and Tubby, for a couple dollars. They were all the same price. The family bought a special ornament each year at the after Christmas sale at Frederick and Nelson. The ornaments were beauties! Walt always bought a poinsettia early in December to make the house look festive. Dorothy baked a wide variety of fancy Scandinavian cookies, such as krumkaka, spritz and sandies, especially for Walt. His mother was Swedish and made the same cookies. Dorothy even learned to make lutefisk and potatascorv. These Norberg family traditions now live on through the children, with Lynn being in charge of the krumkaka iron, and still serving potatascorv but no lutefisk at Christmas.

Dorothy was sure to teach Lynn how much fun it was to bake cookies. She also pointed out that whenever Lynn and Wayne had a disagreement, homemade cookies were wonderful marital therapy.

Dorothy taught her children the importance of celebrating. In addition to Christmas, the family celebrated every possible holiday, but she placed extra emphasis on birthdays. She made family birthdays special with homemade dinners and parties. The neighborhood kids were always invited over for birthday parties to play Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Drop the Clothespin in the Bottle, Bingo, and eat chocolate cake and ice cream. All our friends would get very dressed up. The boys would wear suits and the girls would wear their best dresses. Dorothy would find a cute party favor for each child. Lynn’s favorite party favor was always a pipe that blew bubbles. Then in the evening Dorothy would prepare a special family dinner and both grandmas, Auntie Lily and Uncle Ray Bloomberg, cousins Steve, Brion and Clyde, came over for yet another party. One birthday Lynn wanted to have a turkey dinner, even though it was 95 degrees outside. Her mom made turkey with all the trimmings despite that dreadful heat, because she loved her children so much. Dorothy also made her friends’ birthdays special with a phone call, card, and gift.

Dorothy’s favorite color was red. She wore many red dresses and her favorite coat was red.

She loved to solve crossword puzzles.

Dorothy enjoyed playing the piano. Walt would play violin, and Dorothy would accompany him on the piano. They played church songs as well as theme songs from movies like Dr. Zhivago and The Sound of Music.

Dorothy always wore dresses until one fateful day when Mary Tyler Moore dared to wear capri pants on The Dick Van Dyke Show. That started a whole new trend in fashion. Pastor Miles, from Ballard Baptist Church, even mentioned in a sermon that capris were too controversial for good Christian women to wear. One summer day Gary and Lynn were straining the patience of their mother, so she sent them both outside and locked the front door. They were in the front yard playing when Pastor Miles came to visit the family. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He kept asking the children if she was there, and they encouraged him to just keep knocking – she was in there, all right. After knocking for about five minutes, he acted like he was going to leave. While Lynn knew she wasn’t supposed to bother her mother, she heaved a sigh and said precociously, “I guess I will just have to get her.” She went to the back door, which was unlocked, and told Dorothy that Pastor Miles had been knocking. Immediately she rushed to the front door, wearing her capri pants. She apologized for not answering, saying she thought he was just one of the kids making a racket. No doubt they had a nice visit, as Pastor Miles was a very gracious gentleman and Dorothy was the perfect hostess, but she did always wonder if he noticed she was wearing the questionable Mary Tyler Moore pants.

Dorothy sold Avon for ten years and loved the many neighbors she served.

We had a lot of fun as a family. One of our fondest memories of growing up is that we did laugh a lot. We all played hard at the family cabin at Camano Island - swimming, walking the beach, collecting shells, and boating. The cabin was small so you could hear everything. Dorothy was often first in bed. Before the children went to bed we would go to our parents’ bedroom to kiss her goodnight. By that time, she was always reading the Bible, and she smelled wonderful - she had Avon rich moisture cream on her face. As we were in our own beds falling asleep, we could hear our parents talking and laughing.

Dorothy taught her children the simple fact that God loved them unconditionally, and because they accepted Jesus as their savior, they certainly would go to heaven. God would always be with them. That was great news to a mischievous little girl, and her older brother as well!

As Dorothy became more forgetful and less able to care for herself, she was indirectly teaching her children increased compassion, tenderness and strength. It was around this time that Dorothy and Gary moved out of their family home and into Vineyard Park in Bothell. Gary provided daily support to his mother, helping her walk to meals, and making sure she took her medications. Gary’s constant presence was a great comfort to her during this time, and often prompted favorable comments. The family remains eternally grateful for all the caregivers, residents, and staff at Vineyard Park.

After further decline, Dorothy needed even more intensive care, and she moved into a wonderful Adult Family Home near Lynn. At this special place, caregivers Lisa and Eva provided loving and respectful care right up until the very last day of Dorothy’s rich life of 91 years. She passed away on January 1, 2008 in Kirland, Washington.

The family also wants to thank Ballard Baptist Church for being a warm family home church that she could participate in for 77 years, and especially Dorothy Turnbaugh who was always concerned and praying for Dorothy.

Dorothy had a special talent for loving people. She taught us that life is too short to not forgive others. Always strive to be a good friend. Relationships with people are often more important than being right. Since loving is Dorothy’s specialty, we know Mom is loving heaven and is very happy to be there with Jesus, Walt, her family and many friends, where we will each join her in our own time.

Thank you, one and all, for taking the time to remember and celebrate the life of Dorothy Inez Norberg.