Norma Carper
(1929 - 2018)
Obituary
Norma Lorena (McKim) Carper was born on
June 23, 1929, in Lebanon and went peacefully to be withN the Lord at
age 89 on Thursday (Aug. 2, 2018) in Westminster, Colorado. The
daughter of Bessie (Dunham) McKim and Loyal McKim, Norma grew up in
Lebanon, Mankato and Crandall, Mississippi, with her parents and two
sisters, Eileen and Wilma. She graduated from Mankato High School in
1947 and the University of Kansas School of Education in 1957.
Norma taught elementary school,
primarily in multi-grade classrooms, for eight years. She married Dr.
Ivan Howard Carper in 1952, and is the mother of their five children:
Dennis, Robin, Michael, Kristin and Jonathan. She was active in her
church and community, serving in leadership positions in the Axtell
Christian Hospital Auxiliary, Kansas politics, AARP, the League of
Women Voters, Christian education and her homeowners association.
Norma and Ivan were married for 66
years. Following the completion of Ivan's medical education and
residencies in Lawrence and Kansas City, Kansas, they lived in
Halstead and Newton, where Ivan practiced medicine as a general
surgeon and Norma managed their growing household. They retired to
Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1993 and moved to Covenant Village
retirement home in Westminster, Colorado, in 2014.
Norma was passionate about her family,
her community and her faith, vocally supporting causes that were
important to her. She opened the family home to support those in
need, including family members, friends, foreign travelers and
exchange students, and always recognized what she learned and
received from them. She was happy aiding and encouraging the growth,
education and success of her husband, children, other family members
and those in her community. She took on challenges with focused
energy and a desire to help, determining what needed to be done and
doing it. Norma accomplished so much in her lifetime with strength,
intelligence, humor, an unmatched work ethic and God-given grace.
A passage that reminds us of Norma is
Isaiah 58: 10-11, "Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness
around you will be as bright as noon. The Lord will guide you
continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your
strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an
ever-flowing spring."
Norma is survived by her husband, Ivan;
her five children and their spouses: Dennis and Michelle
Friesen-Carper of Valparaiso, Indiana, Robin and Tom Kluge of
Lawrence, Mike and Billy Mulford-Carper of Austin, Texas, Kristin and
Mark Trollinger of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Jonathan and Dasha
Carper of Denver; eight grandchildren and their spouses: Sarah
Friesen-Carper and Andrew Tengwall, Paul Friesen-Carper and Annette
Griffin, Joshua and Kristine Lollar, Erin Lambert, Caroline and
Cameron Carper, and Audrey and Emma Trollinger; eight
great-grandchildren; and her sisters, Eileen Greenawalt and Wilma
Larson.
Norma's life will be celebrated with
family and friends in a memorial service at 2 p.m. Thursday (Aug. 9,
2018) at Covenant Village in Westminster, Colorado.
