Norma L. (Dunker) Schroeder was born in her family’s home in Smithson, Indiana on August 25, 1928.  She was the third child of George and Thelma Dunker and the last surviving member of her immediate family. She had four brothers, Raymond, Fritz, Donald, and Kenneth, and one sister Nancy. Norma went home to be with her Lord early Palm Sunday morning April 2, 2023, at the age of 94.

Norma married Thomas (Tom) Schroeder in 1946. They lived in Wolcott and Lafayette, Indiana, and moved in retirement to Crossville, TN in 1981. They became active members of the newly formed Crossville Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. Tom served as an elder and “fix it” man, and Norma served in the kitchen for many years.

Norma was raised on a farm in Indiana and continued that life ambition with Tom. She loved the country farm life and raising her family.  Norma maintained a large garden, feeding the family all winter with her many summer days picking, canning, and freezing her produce. She also spent many hours on a tractor pulling a wagon full of hay, corn, or soybeans from the field to the barn. She did her laundry with a hand wringer-washer and a clothesline was her dryer. She was also an accomplished seamstress, making all the clothes for her three daughters. When the girls left home, she turned to make quilts. While raising her family and farming, Norma was also President of her large community ladies’ home economics club. At the Lafayette St., James Lutheran Church Norma taught the challenging two-year-old Sunday School class. Parents were amazed when they saw their child sitting calmly in Norma’s class.

Norma and Tom have four living children: Carol (husband Donald) Scifres, Ronald Schroeder, Debra (husband Daniel) Clemens, and Gail Schroeder. Norma has 12 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren.

A celebration of the life of Norma will be held on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Visitation with the family will be at 10:00 followed by an 11:00 service at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Crossville, TN. A graveside service will be held at 11:00 on April 7 at St. James Lutheran Cemetery in Reynolds, IN. Friends and family are invited to either of these services.

The family requests any memorials to be directed to Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 1461 Sparta Highway, Crossville, TN  38572