Norma E. Hill Gummelt

Anyone who sat in Norma’s kitchen to share a piece of her homemade pecan pie and a cup of coffee invariably noticed a little plaque on the wall with the words, “Prayer Changes Things,” and below that, in smaller letters, “When Ye Pray, Believe – Mark 11:24.” The plaque wasn’t mere decoration: Norma was a lifelong servant of Christ and strong believer in prayer. She worshipped her Lord in many churches, wherever she lived throughout the country. And often, she served as a children’s Sunday school and Vacation Bible School teacher. At the time of her passing, she was a member of Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin and had been president of the Seniors Class in Sunday School.

Norma lived in Austin for more than 60 years, a third-generation Texan. Born in nearby Kyle on June 24, 1916, she was a daughter of Otto Hill and Minnie Schmeltekopf Hill, each from German families that had moved to Central Texas in the mid-1800s. Norma’s childhood was spent with her older sister Iola and younger brother Leslie, as well as numerous cousins, aunts and uncles. German was often spoken and sung in the home, and one German hymn, “Immer Froehlich” (“Always Joyful”) was a standard and even today is sung at the family’s reunions. The children’s mother died early in their childhood, and, when their father had to go to Austin to find work, they ended up living with various aunts and uncles and their families. A favorite family story tells of the two young sisters singing hymns in the evening to their ill mother as they washed the dishes from the evening meal. “In the Garden” was one of their mother’s favorites, and later in life, the two would sing duets of the song as special music at each other’s churches.

Norma left Kyle as a young woman and, just prior to World War II, married Lee Cagle, a Navy Seaman from Oklahoma. They had two children before divorcing in the early 1950s. In 1954 Norma, now back in Austin, met “the love of her life” Robert “Chris” Koerschgen, an Army helicopter mechanic stationed at Gary Army Air Base near San Marcos. The couple married, had a daughter, and the family, now five, moved several times to military posts before settling back in Austin for good in 1961. The family joined Allendale Baptist Church, now Great Hills, and worshipped there for many years until Chris passed away in 1986. Several years later, Norma met and married Louis Gummelt and moved her membership to Hyde Park Baptist where he worshipped. The couple had each lost a cherished partner previously, and their marriage honored those lost loved ones while building on a new relationship. Norma and Louis enjoyed traveling extensively, visiting such places as Hawaii, Washington, DC and Nashville. Louis passed away in 2001.

In addition to travel, Norma loved playing forty-two, singing, listening to the music of Perry Como and Lawrence Welk, and watching her Texas Longhorns and Dallas Cowboys play football. Norma retired from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts after 25 years of service.

Norma is survived by her three children: Don Cagle and wife Karen of Houston, Kathleen Bergeron of Reston, Virginia, and Tina Tout and husband Jamie of Austin, five grandchildren: Lee Cagle of Austin, Shannon Wimberley and husband Stoney of Kyle, Mark Passell of San Marcos, Shane Cagle of Katy, and Evan Cagle and Caitlin Cagle of Los Angeles, great grandchildren Cayden and McKenna Wimberley, and nieces, nephews and friends too numerous to mention. The family wishes to particularly thank the caregivers at the Silverado Memory Care community in Austin.

Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm, on Monday, the 14th of October 2013, at Cook-Walden Funeral Home, 6100 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas.

Graveside services will be private, but a memorial service will be held afterward at 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon on Tuesday, the 15th of October 2013, in the Christ Chapel of Hyde Park Baptist Church, Austin, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that those interested make a donation to their favorite charity. A favorite of Norma’s was the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Condolences may be sent to www.cookwaldenfuneralhome.com.