Individual Details
Elizabeth Ellen Gemmell
(28 Jan 1912 - 26 Oct 2013)
Elizabeth Norris died on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013, in the Rotary House of Hope on the Baptist Retirement Community campus. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013, at First Baptist Church of San Angelo, Texas. A graveside interment service will be held in Spring 2014, in Elmwood Cemetery, Carroll, Neb., in the Gemmell family plots, where Mrs. Norris will be buried alongside her husband, Charles Leonard Norris. Elizabeth Norris was born Jan. 28, 1912, in her parents' home outside Carroll, Neb.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Leonard Norris; parents Robert and Ellen Tharp Gemmell; brothers Donald, John, Ralph, Fred and Allan Gemmell; sisters Mary Elsie Whitney, Jeanne Margaret Smith and Jessie Martha Back; great-grandson Guthrie Ellison Howard; and her husband's brothers and sisters, Judson, Lyman and Raymond Norris and Ellen Norris, Florence Stewart and Martha Weaver. She is survived by her children, Janel Howard and husband Larry, Charles Norris Jr. and wife Estelle and Michael Norris and wife Iva. Surviving grandchildren are Jeff Howard and wife Edith Barrett with Whitman Barrett and Clara Howard, Kent Howard and wife Rebecca with Taylor and Riley, Charles Norris III and wife Megan with Sara, Alexander and Matthew, Laura Kaemper and husband Lee with Aleksey, Paul Norris and wife Kris with Ryan, Andrew and Madison and Phillip Norris and wife Jeanne with Silas. Her sole surviving sibling is sister Wilma Kidd and her husband, Jesse. She also is survived by 17 nieces and nephews and their families.
Elizabeth Norris was baptized in the Carroll, Neb., Baptist Church at age 13 as public testimony of her declaring Jesus as her Savior. Her mother and father customarily called the family together daily for prayer and Bible reading. Her mother lovingly guided Elizabeth in seeking to serve the Lord. Elizabeth Gemmell met Charles Leonard Norris at a church camp in Colorado. They were united in marriage in the Carroll, Neb., Baptist Church on Dec. 25, 1935.
The next day they, traveled by train to Clifton Hill, Mo., where Charles was pastor of the Southern Baptist Church. After several years in Clifton Hill, Charles was pastor of Baptist churches in Texas, Missouri (Ash Grove, Vandalia, Tarkio and Marquand) and Colorado (Alamosa and Pueblo). He was director of missions in several Baptist associations in Missouri (Mount Pleasant, Monroe, Mount Zion and Stoddard County). In each of these settings, Elizabeth's ministry - as wife of the pastor and wife of the missionary - was loving the people.
She graduated as valedictorian of Carroll, Neb., High School in 1930, and received a general elementary state certificate at Wayne State Teachers College (Nebraska) in 1934. She subsequently received a religious education degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas; a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Southeast Missouri State College at Cape Girardeau; and a Master of Education degree from University of Missouri at Columbia. She taught in rural, one-room schools in Wayne County, Neb., in the early 1930s. In Missouri, she taught in a second-grade classroom in the 1960s in Dexter and at Fox Elementary School in Arnold during the summers. In the 1970s, she taught remedial reading in Fredericktown, Mo., where she also was assistant elementary counselor.
Many lives were blessed by Elizabeth Norris's beautiful Wagnerian soprano voice. She sang in churches and community choirs in Missouri, Colorado and Texas. When Elizabeth and Charles traveled to southern Brazil July and August 1972, Elizabeth sang duets with her sister, Wilma Kidd - in Portuguese, the language of Brazil - in churches where her brother-in-law, Jesse Kidd, was missionary. In San Angelo, Texas, she sang in the community's Symphony Choral as well as the sanctuary choir and Glory Choir of First Baptist Church, where she was a member.
Elizabeth and Charles had been married over 48 years when he passed away Nov. 17, 1984. Since 1991, she lived in Baptist Memorials Retirement Community, San Angelo, Texas, where she had many friendships and was widely known as loving, outgoing and remarkably energetic. She was active in the Sarah Sunday school class of First Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to Baptist Memorials Auxiliary; Rotary House of Hope; or First Baptist Church - San Angelo scholarship fund.
Published in GoSanAngelo from Oct. 30 to Oct. 31, 2013
She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Leonard Norris; parents Robert and Ellen Tharp Gemmell; brothers Donald, John, Ralph, Fred and Allan Gemmell; sisters Mary Elsie Whitney, Jeanne Margaret Smith and Jessie Martha Back; great-grandson Guthrie Ellison Howard; and her husband's brothers and sisters, Judson, Lyman and Raymond Norris and Ellen Norris, Florence Stewart and Martha Weaver. She is survived by her children, Janel Howard and husband Larry, Charles Norris Jr. and wife Estelle and Michael Norris and wife Iva. Surviving grandchildren are Jeff Howard and wife Edith Barrett with Whitman Barrett and Clara Howard, Kent Howard and wife Rebecca with Taylor and Riley, Charles Norris III and wife Megan with Sara, Alexander and Matthew, Laura Kaemper and husband Lee with Aleksey, Paul Norris and wife Kris with Ryan, Andrew and Madison and Phillip Norris and wife Jeanne with Silas. Her sole surviving sibling is sister Wilma Kidd and her husband, Jesse. She also is survived by 17 nieces and nephews and their families.
Elizabeth Norris was baptized in the Carroll, Neb., Baptist Church at age 13 as public testimony of her declaring Jesus as her Savior. Her mother and father customarily called the family together daily for prayer and Bible reading. Her mother lovingly guided Elizabeth in seeking to serve the Lord. Elizabeth Gemmell met Charles Leonard Norris at a church camp in Colorado. They were united in marriage in the Carroll, Neb., Baptist Church on Dec. 25, 1935.
The next day they, traveled by train to Clifton Hill, Mo., where Charles was pastor of the Southern Baptist Church. After several years in Clifton Hill, Charles was pastor of Baptist churches in Texas, Missouri (Ash Grove, Vandalia, Tarkio and Marquand) and Colorado (Alamosa and Pueblo). He was director of missions in several Baptist associations in Missouri (Mount Pleasant, Monroe, Mount Zion and Stoddard County). In each of these settings, Elizabeth's ministry - as wife of the pastor and wife of the missionary - was loving the people.
She graduated as valedictorian of Carroll, Neb., High School in 1930, and received a general elementary state certificate at Wayne State Teachers College (Nebraska) in 1934. She subsequently received a religious education degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas; a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Southeast Missouri State College at Cape Girardeau; and a Master of Education degree from University of Missouri at Columbia. She taught in rural, one-room schools in Wayne County, Neb., in the early 1930s. In Missouri, she taught in a second-grade classroom in the 1960s in Dexter and at Fox Elementary School in Arnold during the summers. In the 1970s, she taught remedial reading in Fredericktown, Mo., where she also was assistant elementary counselor.
Many lives were blessed by Elizabeth Norris's beautiful Wagnerian soprano voice. She sang in churches and community choirs in Missouri, Colorado and Texas. When Elizabeth and Charles traveled to southern Brazil July and August 1972, Elizabeth sang duets with her sister, Wilma Kidd - in Portuguese, the language of Brazil - in churches where her brother-in-law, Jesse Kidd, was missionary. In San Angelo, Texas, she sang in the community's Symphony Choral as well as the sanctuary choir and Glory Choir of First Baptist Church, where she was a member.
Elizabeth and Charles had been married over 48 years when he passed away Nov. 17, 1984. Since 1991, she lived in Baptist Memorials Retirement Community, San Angelo, Texas, where she had many friendships and was widely known as loving, outgoing and remarkably energetic. She was active in the Sarah Sunday school class of First Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to Baptist Memorials Auxiliary; Rotary House of Hope; or First Baptist Church - San Angelo scholarship fund.
Published in GoSanAngelo from Oct. 30 to Oct. 31, 2013
Events
| Birth | 28 Jan 1912 | Carroll, Wayne County, Nebraska | |||
| Marriage | 25 Dec 1935 | Carroll, Wayne County, Nebraska - Charles Leonard Norris |  |  | |
| Death | 26 Oct 2013 | San Angelo, Tom Green County, Texas | |||
| Burial | Elmwood Cemetery, Carroll, Wayne County, Nebraska | |
Families
| Spouse | Charles Leonard Norris (1907 - 1984) |
Notes
Marriage
Charles L NorrisSex Male
Age 28
Birth Year (Estimated) 1907
Father's Sex Male
Mother's Sex Female
Spouse's Name Elizabeth E Gemmell
Spouse's Sex Female
Spouse's Age 23
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated) 1912
Spouse's Father's Sex Male
Marriage Date 25 Dec 1935
Marriage Place Carroll, Wayne, Nebraska, United States
Marriage Place (Original) Carroll
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