Obituary of Norma Hodges

Norma Hodges, 92, of Iowa City, passed away peacefully, January 20, 2018 at Bickford Cottage in Iowa City in the presence of her daughter, Jeannie (Jeanette) and her cat, Albert.

A memorial service will be held 3 p.m., Friday, February 16th at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Iowa City with a time of fellowship immediately following.  Her cremated remains will be buried in the Toledo Cemetery, Toledo, Iowa.  Memorials in Norma’s name may be made to the ASPCA recognizing her love for cats and dogs or the Christian Children’s Fund. 

Norma was born to Karl and Lois Stempel on November 30, 1925, in Ft. Madison, Iowa, where she grew up.  She attended the University of Iowa majoring in art and had participated in the Writers’ Workshop under Paul Engel; and was a past president of her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha.

Norma married Robert ‘Bob’ Hodges on June 8, 1946.  They had four children; Jeannie, Bob, Karl and Jim.  She and Bob loved the beauty of Iowa and bought an acreage on the edge of Iowa City.  Later they bought a farm in rural Oxford.  They had also lived in Davis County, CA.  They eventually returned to Iowa to a lovely house across the road from their farm.  Norma treasured a year sabbatical they took around the world to investigate nutritional deficits which she was able to assist Bob with.

Norma never stopped learning, painting, drawing and writing.  In later years she wrote poetry and published a book of her favorites.  For many years she made black print Christmas cards and later sketched her lovely cards and water colored them.  She was an excellent cook and loved entertaining.

She is survived by her children; Jeannie, Karl and Jim; grandchildren, Michael, Timothy, Nicholas, Ian, Amber and Mara as well as five great-grandchildren.

Norma was preceded in death by her husband, Robert and son, Bob.