Norma Jo Orrell Coker

1926 - 2021

Norma Jo Orrell Coker

Peterborough, NH — Norma Jo Orrell Coker passed peacefully at home surrounded by family and loved ones on December 28, 2021. She was born on July 7, 1926 in Broken Bow OK., the daughter of Maggie Lee Tolleson Orrell Edwards and James Raymond Orrell of Oklahoma City, OK. Norma Jo was educated in Oklahoma and Kansas schools. She received her Associates in Science, Business Administration Degree from Rivier University in 1979, retiring in 1996 after twenty-eight years of Government Service, her last five serving as Patient Representative at the VA Medical Center in Manchester, NH.

She is the Gold Star Widow of Major Ellis C. Coker, a career Army Officer and Veteran of WW2 who passed away while stationed at Fort Leavenworth, KS. Norma traveled the world with him for many years in the U.S. and overseas, including tours of duty in Japan and Germany - where three of their four children were born. She appreciated their military lifestyle and made a loving home wherever they were assigned.

Fraternally, she was a member of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) having served in many capacities, and served thirty years on the New England Army Retiree Council (NEARC), many as widow representative. She was also an Associate Member of Military Organization of America (MOAA).

Norma is survived by her three children: son Donald J. Coker and his partner Rennie Evans of Strafford, NH, daughter Jennifer Lynn Coker and her partner Fred Sack of Lawrence, KS., and daughter Katherine Bergin and husband Mark of Peterborough, NH with whom Norma had made her home since 2020. She was predeceased by her husband and first-born son Cliff Thomas Coker, who is survived by his partner Patricia Nelson of Denver CO., and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren.

In lieu of attending a memorial or service, Norma's final wish was for all of us to pay a good deed forward in her memory whenever and wherever you encounter an elderly person.