Norma Elaine Hammon, 62, died at home in La Crosse, Wis., Nov. 28, 2017, under hospice care and amid the help of a loyal circle of loving family and friends.
Norma and husband John M. (Marty) Osmundsen had been together for 35 years. They met in Decorah, Iowa, and lived adventurously in Hawai’i for 11 years before moving to La Crosse in 1992.
Norma and Marty enjoyed the beauty of living tucked under the bluffs of La Crosse, where they’ve gardened, watched the birds, cared for their own tribe of guinea pigs and other critters and, most weekends, hiked up into the woods there or places farther afield. Vacations were always explorations of natural places—most recently, Newfoundland. Always, Hawai’i, to which they returned a number of times, was the home of Norma’s heart.
Many of Norma’s La Crosse friends were colleagues from her 14 years of hospital work—beginning at Franciscan-Skemp in housekeeping and ending as Logistics Specialist for the conversion of supply systems at Mayo. Her self-effacing, laugh-ready manner, combined with serious smarts and an ingrained work ethic, earned her respect and affection across many departments. Norma’s last day in the office was Oct. 24th.
She attended Luther College and was a 1994, magna cum laude graduate of Winona (Minn.) State University.
In home life, Norma was especially close to the family of Marty’s sister Cathy and brother-in-law Bob Iverson of the Twin Cities. She took particular pride and delight in her Minnesota nieces and nephew: Cynthia Iverson Erickson, now of Fort Collins, Colo.; Erica Iverson, now of Maple Grove, Minn.; and John, who died five years ago. They shared years of holiday celebrations and summer camping in northern Minnesota. In recent years, Cathy and Norma made two trips together to India.
Born in Ohio on May 5, 1955, the adored youngest of three girls, Norma called Ann Arbor, Mich., her hometown. Middle sister Linda Humphrey died in 2011. The eldest sister was Laura Hammon Mol of Silver Spring, Md., whose sons were also a delight in their aunt Snick’s life: nephews Andrew Mol, now of Raleigh, N.C., and Gregory Mol Russo, now of Trumansburg, N.Y.
Another nephew and a niece, also far-flung and dear to Norma, were the children of Marty’s late brother Tom: William Osmundsen of Cedar Park, Texas, and Kristin Osmundsen Barchuk of Collegeville, Pa.
With family, with friends, with co-workers, Norma offered a gentle manner, a tough protectiveness of the unprotected, and a lifelong appreciation of differences—the quirky, the odd, the oddball even. She read avidly and made beautiful, wheel-thrown pottery.
On Dec. 2, 2017, friends came to the Schumacher-Kish Funeral Home (200 West Avenue S, La Crosse, WI 54601) for an informal time for reflections in honor of Norma’s life.