Norma died January 8, 2023 at Taylor’s Adult Family Home in Burien, WA where she had been a resident since October, 2015. She previously lived in Tacoma, WA for 47 years.
Norma was born in Staten Island, NY on September 9, 1926 to parents Etta and Irvin Sternfels. She attended Port Richmond High School in Staten Island for two years before transferring to Manual Training High School in Brooklyn, NY after her father began work at the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard in 1942.
Following graduation from the Commercial Studies curriculum in 1944, Norma held administrative positions with an insurance agency and, later, a paint and varnish manufacturer. It was there that she met Stanley Newman, a WW II U. S. Army Air Corps veteran whom she married in December, 1947.
In 1951, Norma began a new life as a military spouse when Stanley was recalled to active duty to serve in the U. S. Air Force during the Korean War and, subsequently, decided to choose the Air Force for a career. In her new role Norma had a series of residences in North Carolina, Nebraska, Washington, Germany and California. During that time she kept busy with Officer Wives Club activities, gardening, sketching, water color painting and creating poetry in the style of Ogden Nash. Norma always enjoyed cooking and was known among her friends and family as a “foodie.” She was proud of an award she received for a recipe submitted to the Pillsbury Company 1965 Grand National Recipe & Baking Contest that led to her being selected as “One of the Ten Best Bakers from the Armed Forces Overseas.” Following Stanley’s Air Force retirement in November 1967, the couple settled down in Tacoma.
Norma was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Stanley, and her brother Martin. She is survived by her brother Paul, nephew William, and nieces Leslie, Kathryn, Laura and Andrea. Norma will be laid to rest at the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, WA.