Helen Hope Johns Norman

Helen Hope Johns Norman was born Sept. 22, 1928, at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, La., the youngest child of Rev. Henry LeRoy Johns and Persis Means Johns. She died Nov. 7, 2017, at Brookdale Alexandria in Alexandria, La., at the age of 89. Growing up as a Methodist minister's daughter, Hope developed a love for church and community that characterized her entire life. She moved with her family to pastoral appointments in Ruston, Monroe, Lake Charles, and back to New Orleans. While singing in the choir at her father's church, Rayne Memorial Methodist in New Orleans, she caught the eye of Tom Norman of Cotton Valley, La., a Navy V-12 volunteer beginning his medical education at Tulane. Hope graduated from Sophie B. Wright School, then an all-girls' public high school, in 1943, and entered Louisiana State University at the age of 15. At LSU, she was a member of the Chi Omega sorority and graduated with a B.A. in English in 1947. She and Tom were married at Rayne Memorial on June 16 of that year. Tom's internship and residency in general medicine, followed by his volunteering for the Air Force and his subsequent specialization in academic pathology, led the couple to many homes over the years, including Temple, Texas; Pineville; Ruston; Natchez, Miss.; Lubbock, Texas; Wichita Falls, Texas; Memphis, Tenn; Jackson, Miss.; New Orleans; and Little Rock, Ark. Hope worked as a census worker, a substitute teacher, and, after having children, a full-time homemaker, while remaining active as a church and community volunteer. In Little Rock, she was an early member of the Women's Emergency Committee that worked to reopen the newly integrated schools. In 1966, the Normans moved to Alexandria, where they settled to finish rearing their four children. In Alexandria, Hope and Tom were among the founders of the Rapides Symphony Orchestra and the Tom Peyton Memorial Arts Festival, and they continued to serve and steer those institutions in many capacities for more than fifty years. Hope was active in First United Methodist Church, serving as a Sunday school teacher, Sanctuary Choir member, and member of education and worship committees. She served on the boards of the Gloster (MS) Arboretum and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. She and her friend Louise A. Simon co-edited the cookbook Louisiana Entertains, published in 1978, to benefit the Rapides Symphony Orchestra. In 1979, Hope joined the staff of the Alexandria Daily Town Talk to write a weekly column called "Panorama" that focused on local culture, nature, history, and people. Over the next decade "Panorama" won five first-place awards from the Louisiana Press Women. A sampling was published in 1987 as the book Gumbos and Snowflakes: Selections from "Panorama." After retiring from the paper, Hope continued to take on free-lance assignments for publications such as Forests & People, the magazine of the Louisiana Forestry Association. She was the author of The first 90 years: from Alexandria Sanitarium to Rapides Regional Medical Center, a history of Rapides General Hospital. An avid birder, Hope particularly enjoyed outings to Cameron Parish, where she and Tom had a birding retreat near Peveto Woods Sanctuary. She was a wonderful cook, read widely, loved the arts—especially music; she studied piano well into adulthood—and enjoyed nurturing a wide and lively web of relationships, from family members near and far to friends from all chapters of her life. Hope was predeceased by her son Thomas Foster Norman, DVM, in 2005, and by her husband, Dr. Tom David Norman, in 2011. She is survived by her son David Johns Norman of Berryville, Va., and wife Deb; son Dr. Stephen Henry Norman of Alexandria and wife Lisa; daughter-in-law Karen Normand Norman of Alexandria; daughter Hope Norman Coulter of Little Rock, Ark., and husband Mel White; grandchildren Catherine Norman Stead and husband Mark of Dallas, Texas; Laura Norman Clerc and husband Brian of Dallas; Matthew Stephen Norman of Essen, Germany, and wife Sarah; Melissa Hope Norman of San Diego, Calif.; Emily Norman Murphy and husband Mike of Alexandria; Sarah Norman Mason and husband Kevin of Alexandria; Margaret Helen Norman of Alexandria; Caroline Grace Coulter of Baltimore, Md.; Nathan David Coulter of St. Louis, Mo.; and Thomas Norman Coulter of Columbia, Mo.; step-grandchildren William Thomas Elkins of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Benjamin Bryan Elkins of Alexandria; Katharine Elkins DelaVega and husband Mark of Berryville, Va.; Allen Clare Elkins Heckman and husband Drew of Atlanta, Ga.; great-grandchildren Grace and Thomas Murphy of Alexandria; Mason and Grant Stead of Dallas; and Emma, Henry, and Graham Clerc of Dallas; and step-great-grandchildren Liddy and Wills Elkins of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Bossier, Davis, and Merritt DelaVega of Berryville, Va.; Emma and Ned Elkins of Alexandria; and Houston, Audie, and Clara Heckman of Atlanta. The family would like to thank the caretakers of Brookdale Alexandria and Compassionate Care Hospice and the many friends and family members who demonstrated their love and care for Hope throughout the course of her illness. A memorial service will be at the First United Methodist Church, Alexandria, at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, with the Rev. Ashley Maguire officiating. The family will receive visitors before and after the service. Memorials are suggested to the Tom Peyton Memorial Arts Festival, First United Methodist Church, 2727 Jackson, Alexandria, La., 71301; Rosalie Sugarmill Music Festival, 1260-F Texas Ave., Alexandria, La., 71301; Baton Rouge Audubon Society—Peveto Woods Fund, P.O. Box 67016, Baton Rouge, La., 70896; or a charity of one's choice. Arrangements have been entrusted to the John Kramer & Son Funeral Home, 2905 Masonic Dr., Alexandria La., 71307.