Norma Ida (Koehn) Metzger, 76

Upsala

April 9, 1934 - March 30, 2011

Services celebrating the life of Norma Ida (Koehn) Metzger, age 76, of Upsala, will be at 10:30 AM on Monday, April 4th, at Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Upsala. Burial will be in the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery, Little Falls. There will be a visitation from 4-8:00 PM on Sunday, April 3rd with a prayer service at 5PM at the Miller-Carlin Funeral Home in Upsala and again after 9:30AM at the church.

Norma was born on the family farm in Krain Township of Stearns County, on April 9th, 1934 to Ferdinand & Clara Koehn. With many fond memories of her youth, family holidays at the Earnst home and trips with her sister for extended stays with their aunts in the cities, she grew up and graduated from Holdingford High School in 1951. Norma moved to St. Cloud to work as a Dental Assistant. Soon after, at her sister's Wedding Shower Dance, she met Earl; he danced and charmed his way into her heart. They were married on November 7th, 1953 at St. John's Lutheran Church of Krain Township where Norma had been Baptized and Confirmed; all was done by Rev. L.H. Nauss. They moved to the Twin Cities where Norma worked while Earl attended college. The young couple then moved to Upsala where they raised 5 children; Norma was regarded as the prize bread baker and wonderful cook! She worked hard on their farm making sure her family was well fed and taken care of, always keeping the Lord at the forefront even preparing Sunday lessons with her children on Saturday night… but life's trials did not evade her as she had brain surgery to remove a tumor in the Fall of 1977 and then again troubles arose in 1985 when she experienced a stroke causing her to have to relearn 'life' all over again. Nevertheless, she did; with her strong faith in the Lord, she regained her abilities and kept her beautiful spirit about her. Norma was an active member at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church; she loved to garden with Earl (And what a garden they had!) enjoyed playing horseshoes, a good game of scrabble, eating chocolate, fishing, playing cards (her favorite was BlackJack), never missed a Twins Baseball game, was an active member of the Upsala American Legion Post Ladies Auxiliary and loved to hear Charlie Pride sing. Norma loved life, her children and her dear husband, in fact, it was hard to find Norma without Earl; they enjoyed 57 years of marriage together! Even in death, they could not be apart as Earl passed away only few weeks ago. Norma was regarded as a strong Christian woman, a loving and caring Mom, a dedicated wife, a quiet prankster with a beautiful personality and a spark for life - who never complained. Even as Parkinson's slowly stole her life, Norma always smiled. She went to be with her Lord and Savior on March 30th; her stunning blue eyes and beautiful smile will never be forgotten.

Norma is survived by her brothers: Bob (Shirley) Koehn, Carl Koehn, sister: Delores Jopp, children: Mike (Candace) Metzger, Milissa (Rick) Preiss, Jeff Metzger, Alan (Rhonda) Metzger, Ken (Denise) Metzger and 9 grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her parents and her husband Earl, on March 12th.