Norma Reid Hildebrandt

1919 - 2016

Dec. 4, 1919 - July 18, 2016

Norma Reid Hildebrandt was born on Dec. 4, 1919 in Colorado and died at the age of 96 on July 18 in Woodland. As a young girl she moved with her family to the small oil boomtown of Huntington Beach, CA. A few years later she and her friends became the first generation to enjoy going to the beach as a focused activity in what would ultimately become "Surf City, USA."

Upon graduating from Huntington Beach High School, when the city had a population of about 3000 people, Norma enrolled at UCLA, graduating in 1941 with an elementary school teaching credential. During her time at UCLA, she took classes with pioneering baseball player Jackie Robinson, whom she remembered most for his dominating play on the football field. She played violin in the university orchestra, and worked at Sears on the weekends for 45 cents an hour, helping support herself during the lean times near the end of the Great Depression.

Norma taught school for about a year but then decided to become an airline stewardess, flying on a DC-3 between Fort Worth, Texas and Mexico City. This was a pioneering endeavor as the DC-3 was the first viable form of commercial air travel, and staffed by the pilot, co-pilot, and only a single stewardess. She returned to teaching during WWII, but then took on another stint of stewardess work, moving up to the newly produced DC-6 and flying between Los Angeles and Mexico City. Many an adventure occurred in Mexico, including a nighttime burro ride up to the violently erupting Paricutin volcano.

Norma ultimately settled down and married Robert Hildebrandt in 1950, and raised two children, Carolyn and Bill, in Northridge, CA. After getting the kids through their infant years, she became a working mom, teaching elementary school until her retirement. She taught fourth grade for most of her career, especially enjoying the California history part of the curriculum. Toward the end of her tenure she shifted to second grade, exerting a great deal of energy teaching kids how to read. Her excellent teaching abilities carried on into her retirement when she tutored the children of family members and friends on reading with a strong dose of art history thrown in as well.

Norma and Bob moved to Woodland in 1988 to be closer to family members in Northern California. She joined the Woodland Presbyterian Church at that time, and was an active member in multiple committees for several years. A few years after Bob's death in 1997, she moved in with her son, Bill, his wife Laurie, and grandson Tod in Woodland until, at the age of 90, she moved to the St. John's Retirement Village. Prior to turning 90, her long-term affection for the ocean carried over to annual beach vacations with family and friends, and her penchant for teaching continued through helping young people learn how to read.

Norma is survived by her brother, John; daughter, Carolyn; son, Bill; daughter-in-law, Laurie, and grandchildren, Linnea, Bryn, and Tod. A memorial service for friends and family will be scheduled at a later date. Any donations should be sent to Woodland Literacy Council, Woodland Public Library.