Norma L. Goldner

God's lighthouse shone brightly and led Norma Lee (Bakeman) Goldner home on Oct. 16, 2024, following a lengthy and courageous battle with cancer. And while our hearts are forever broken, we take solace in the knowledge that she was welcomed into Jesus's arms and made whole.

Norma's story began on July 1, 1940, in Ionia, Mich., where her father was a prison guard. Soon after, her parents Lee and Mable (Holle) Bakeman moved to a farm in Dowagiac where her strong work ethic and strong back were developed. She was active in 4H, winning several ribbons, including Grand Champion Steer, at the Cass County Fair.

Upon graduation from Dowagiac Union High School, she moved on to Michigan State University, where she obtained her teaching degree in mathematics (with a minor in art). Teaching was her calling and she helped thousands of students (and several grandchildren) through the challenges of algebra, geometry and calculous. She taught at several area schools, most notably Eau Claire High School, Benton Harbor Area Schools and Lake Michigan College.

While home on break her senior year, she met Don Goldner at Sister Lakes Bowl and the rest was history. They married within the year on Aug. 18, 1962. Over the next five years they welcomed four daughters and built their dream home in Sodus Township, where they have resided for over 60 years. Upon retirement, the couple was finally able to realize their dream of becoming snowbirds and became a part of the Oakwood Estates family in Winter Haven, Fla., leaving the blustery Michigan winters behind them.

The phrase "A Servants Heart" could have been coined just for Norma. Until cancer forced her to slow down, she was busy from sun up to sundown. She was active in several organizations, such as the Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel (where she served as both president, co-president and insurance liaison), 4H (as both a student participant and leader), Blossomtime (serving on the Miss Sodus committee), Berrien County Cancer Service and Chapel Hill United Methodist Church (serving on several church committees including finance, missions and craft shows, as well as helping with vacation Bible school).

Norma loved life. Though she didn't travel extensively, she enjoyed new places and she and Don spent dozens of winter breaks in the Bahamas with dear friends. She was an avid sewer, at first sewing clothes for her daughters (often matching, to their chagrin) and later quilting, making quilts for all her children and grandchildren.

She played cards and dominos, with favorites being Mexican train and Hand and Foot. She liked to camp, often including her grandchildren, most recently with her church family in Lakeville, Mich. She was a wonderful cook, canned every year, liked to garden, loved lighthouses, scrapbooked (making books for all her girls and their kids), liked shelling and the list goes on. She donated of her time and skills to all and her passing leaves a gap that seems unfillable.

A celebration of life will be Sunday, Oct. 27, at Chapel Hill United Methodist Church, 4071 Naomi Road, Sodus, MI 49126. Pastors Mikki Collins and Patti Harpole will officiate. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m. with service to follow at 2 p.m. Arrangements have been entrusted to Starks Family Funeral Home, Starks and Menchinger Chapel. Those wishing to sign Norma's memory book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Norma's honor may be made to Chapel Hill United Methodist Church, Berrien County Cancer Service, or Heartland Hospice.

Those left behind to cherish her memory include her husband, Don; daughters: Beth (Mike) DeCoursey, Brenda (Dave) Seeley, Bonnie (Jeff) Hackman and Carol Martin; grandchildren: Spencer and Quentin DeCoursey, Dalton, Brian and Megan Seeley, Emma Hackman and Sami (Jake) Schlutt, Lexi and Kasi Martin; great-grandson, Jaxson Schlutt; as well as a host of dear friends and extended family.

She was preceded in death by her parents and sister, Darlene Bakeman.