Norma Larson Bailey

Norma Larson Bailey, age 97, Watertown, died Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Jenkins Living Center.

Visitation will be held on Sunday from 12-2PM at the Furness Funeral Home at Clark.

Funeral services will also be held on Sunday, March 8, 2020, at 2PM in the Furness Funeral Home Chapel at Clark with The Reverend Mindy Ehrke officiating. The pianist and soloist will be Wendy Christman.  The casketbearers will be Todd and Kris Swanson, Darren Larson, Nichole Raes, Jeremy Raes, Merlin Smith, Gary Bailey.

Norma Irene Hallberg was born in Clark County on February 28, 1923, the daughter of Walter and Florence (Day) Hallberg.

Norma attended country school. After completing country school, she attended Clark High School. Upon graduating from High School, she attended Northern State University in Aberdeen, getting her teaching certificate in 1941. She taught in country schools and ended by teaching the lower grades at Naples. Norma also did commissary work at Canteen Corporation of Moline, IL.

She married Ole Larson on April 21, 1946. The couple lived in Clark County, farming over 20 years. In June 1965 they moved to Illinois for 18 years, later moving back to Clark.  Norma's husband died on June 16, 1995. She then returned to Illinois to be near her family.

On September 29, 2000, she married Jack Bailey, a longtime family friend.  After her marriage to Jack, she spent her life in Clark and Texas. She enjoyed her family and all the visits, pictures, and phone calls she received. "It is great to have a loving family," she writes. Jack died in July, 2010.  Norma again returned to Illinois living with her daughter Madeline (Kenny) Swanson and her son, Harlan (Alice) Larson.  Norma returned to Clark in 2014 residing at the Roetell Senior Living Center, then to Avantara – Clark and 3 weeks ago to the Jenkins Living Center at Watertown.

She was a member of the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Clark.  In her free moments Norma enjoyed embroidering and on the farm she always had a big garden, did lots of canning and helping with the farm chores.

The children of Ole and Norma are Madeline Swanson of Watertown and son Harlan (Alice) Larson, of Moline, IL; four grandchildren, Todd (Lisa) Swanson, Kris (Grayce) Swanson, Darren (Kristy) Larson, and Nichole (Jeremy) Raes. Great-grandchildren include Aaron, Annalise. Austin, Kristopher, and Alex Swanson, Jared, Lauren, Alyssa, Conner, and Nicholas Raes.

Preceding her in death were her parents, husbands, Ole and Jack, son-in-law, Kenny Swanson, great-granddaughter, Haley Raes and siblings, Frances (Wilmer) Smith and Cheryl (Kenny) Anderson.

Services are  with the Furness Funeral Home where there is an online registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com