Norma Lea Wittfoth

Funeral Services for Norma L. Wittfoth will be held on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 2:30 p.m. at Hope Lutheran Church in rural Smithfield, Nebraska, with Pastor Tim Glendening and Chaplain DeWane Dow officiating. Interment will be held following the services in the Hope Lutheran Cemetery in rural Gosper County, Nebraska.

Norma Lea Wittfoth, 82 years of age, of Holdrege, Nebraska, formerly of Bertrand, Nebraska, passed away on Friday, June 2, 2017 at the Phelps Memorial Health Center. Norma was born March 30, 1935, the eldest of three children born to Frederick George Jurgen and Fern Elizabeth (Lindau) Warnken. She began her primary education until the 6th grade at Naponee Public Schools and then attended Hildreth Public Schools, graduating from Hildreth High School with the class of 1952.

On May 16, 1952, she was united in marriage to Carl Ennoch Wittfoth at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Hildreth, Nebraska and to this union three daughters were born: Cynthia, Pamela and Victoria. The family made their home in Axtell for a brief time until moving to Eustis, Nebraska for a year before settling to Bertrand in 1954. In addition to raising their three daughters, Norma was employed at the Bertrand COOP as bookkeeper until 1972, when she then began working at Becton Dickinson until her retirement in 1994. In June of 2013, Norma and Carl began to make their home at the Christian Homes Care Community in Holdrege and on March 18, 2014, Carl preceded her in death.

Norma was a member of the Hope Lutheran Church, where she was a Sunday school teacher for 25 years and was also very active with the ELCA sewing group. In recent years, Norma enjoyed socializing and evangelizing at Christian Homes. He was also a past member of the Elks and Eagles Club, and served on the Volunteers of Bertrand.

Norma and Carl loved to go dancing and enjoyed many card clubs throughout their marriage. Norma also was an incredible seamstress. Family and friends were Norma's passion and she enjoyed many coffee circles with them. She enjoyed attending all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren's activities and always looked forward to holidays, when everyone was together.

Norma was preceded in death by: her father and mother, Fred and Fern Warnken; her husband, Carl in 2014; daughter, Cynthia Junkin in 2016; son-in-law, Jim Sweeney; three sisters-in-law: Lucille Roos and her husbands, Lyle and Vern, Marcia Gewecke and her husband, Wilbur and Arlene Bergstrom and her husbands, Jim, Elgin and Orville; and brother-in-law, Jim Duering.

She leaves to mourn her passing; her two daughters: Pam Sweeney Broome and her husband, Herman Broome of Johnson Lake, Nebraska and Vicki Cissell and her husband, Rick of Loveland, Colorado; son-in-law, Dan Junkin of Ft. Collins, Colorado; four grandsons: Eric Sweeney and his wife, Beth of Sharon, Massachusetts, Andrew Sweeney and his wife, Andi of Loomis, Nebraska, Derik Cissell and his wife, Lindsey of Johnstown, Colorado and Cory Cissell of Loveland; ten great-grandchildren: Noah, Adele and Eden Sweeney, Cole and Lexie King, Jaxson, Brinley and Hazel Sweeney and Zoie and Ivie Cissell; sister, Kayleen Potter and her husband, Robert of Wilcox, Nebraska; brother, Roger Warnken and his wife, Pam of Walnut, California; sister-in-law, Evon Willman and her husband, John of Minden, Nebraska; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Visitation will be held on Monday, June 5, 2017 from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. with the family greeting from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the Hope Lutheran Church in rural Smithfield.

A memorial has been established in Norma's honor and kindly suggested to Hope Lutheran Church or the Christian Homes Care Community.

Expressions of caring and kindness can be sent to the family at www.nelsonbauerfh.com

The Nelson-Bauer Funeral Home in Holdrege is in charge of the arrangements.