Obituary for Dec. 10, 2012

Norma Thomas

Baker City, 1937-2012

Norma Thomas, 75, of Baker City died Nov. 30, 2012, at St. Alphonsus Medical Center. 

Her memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec.13, at Gray’s West and Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave.

Norma was born on Sept. 29, 1937, at Hollister, Calif., to James and Violet Chadwell Kaufman. She married Ronald Thomas on May 17, 1953. 

They homesteaded at Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1959. In 1974 they purchased a ranch near Medical Springs where they raised cattle and later sheep. She was a founding member and affiliate with both the Pioneer Cemetery and the Medical Springs Rural Fire Department.

Norma worked as a rancher for 38 years at Medical Springs. Her hobbies included watercolor painting, ceramics and flower gardening. 

Survivors include her son, Jim Thomas, and his wife, Jodi, of Baker City; daughters, Pam Walker, and her husband, Bruce, of Emmett, Idaho, and Linda Mann and her husband, Michael, of Portland; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; and a great-granddaughter, Sierra.

 Memorial contributions may be made to the Medical Springs Rural Fire Department through Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.