Nora Pollock Castle

 

Longtime Cleveland Heights resident, Nora Castle died on November 18, 2023 at age 84 from Myelodysplastic Syndrome, a disease that neither she nor her family had ever heard of before her diagnosis 11 months ago.

She was predeceased by her daughter Kate, in 1980. She is survived by her husband William, son Peter, daughter Amy, grandson Aidan McAree and sister Kate Pollock.

Nora and her husband Bill met as teenagers while attending some of Mrs. Batzer’s Dancing School “Parties”. They wed, at age 20, in 1959 and were married for 64 years.

Nora had a wonderful sense of humor which she passed on to Peter, Amy and Aidan.

Rather than be in the spotlight, she was content to be behind the scenes observing how others were benefitting from her hard work.

Upon her retirement as Director of Call For Action, Nora was honored in July, 2005 with a letter of recognition, submitted by Dennis J. Kucinich & entered into the Congressional Record, acknowledging her “thirty-two years of outstanding service in her role as champion of consumer rights. The work of Mrs. Castle has given a voice to countless consumers seeking justice throughout Northeast Ohio”.

In 2010, Fairmount Church wrote this tribute to her:

“As a church family, we are so grateful to Nora Castle, who is retiring from her long time role as the Children’s Church School Superintendent. Few of us can boast of 35 consecutive years of service to Fairmount, but Nora Castle can – often with multiple responsibilities. For thirteen years of that time Nora taught first grade. Then for the next twenty-two years she was superintendent of the entire Church School. Concurrently with all that, at various times she found time to serve Fairmount as an elder, a trustee, a Youth Division member and a Children’s Division member.

Nora’s superintendent’s office, aka “Nora’s Castle”, strategically placed at the corner of the classroom wing of the basement, was always perfectly organized and contained everything an elementary church school teacher would want. But far more important than the hardware was Nora’s steady and ever-present caring and support for the elementary Church School students and teachers; she knows every student’s name, her or his parents and, after 35 years, many of their grandparents. She never fails to ask after a (now grown up) child, and always adds a fond remembrance about the young adult’s time at Fairmount from years back”.

 

A service will be held on November 30th at 2 pm with a reception to follow.

(Fairmount Church, 2757 Fairmount Blvd, Cleveland Heights)

 

In lieu of flowers, donations could be made to Fairmount Church, 2757 Fairmount Blvd, Cleveland Hts., OH 44118, or to The Natural History Museum, 1 Wade Oval, Cleveland, OH 44106, where her daughter Kate was a volunteer caregiver to the museum’s wild animals, under the astute guidance of Harvey Webster.

Or, just plant something in her honor. She’d love that!