Norma J. Husted

  Norma J. Husted, passed away peacefully on May 30, 2023, in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, at the age of 88.  Services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday June 10, 2023, at Meyer Brothers Morningside Chapel, with the Rev. Del Olivier officiating.  Visitation will be with the family from 9:00 a.m. until the time of service at the funeral home. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery on Monday, June 12, 2023.

  Norma was born October 13, 1934, to Edward A. and Alma F. (Christensen) Mohrhauser in Danbury, Iowa. She graduated from Danbury Public Schools in 1952. She worked in Omaha for a year after high school, then moved to Sioux City and worked in the Woodbury County Court House for a couple of years.

  Norma married Wayne D. Husted on October 24, 1960, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Sioux City. They had 4 children, Kent, Kevin, Kristi and Keith. Wayne passed away in June 2001.

  Norma had played clarinet throughout her high school years, and loved to be in the band. She was very involved in county fairs when her children were in 4H, and had several hundred winning ribbons from her own entries into the Woodbury County Fair for baking, sewing, flowers, gardening, and needle crafts. She loved to sew things like doll clothes and square dance dresses, and loved to make fudge, divinity, and all sorts of pies and cakes. She loved to attend county (Clay, Plymouth and Woodbury) fairs and state (Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, and Minnesota) fairs even into her golden years. She loved to dance, especially polka and square dance. She had bowled on a women’s league for over 25 years. She also loved to travel on family vacations and had visited many state capital buildings.

  She worked at JCPenney for over 15 years and then cleaned houses for many Sioux City families, all of who treated her like family. She was a donor to the Siouxland Blood Bank, and had given over 20 gallons of blood through the years. She collected all types of chicken and angel collectibles, and loved dolls. Her childhood dolls were donated to the Sioux City Public Museum a few years ago, so that they can reappear in the future. She also had a fondness for giraffes after meeting them face-to-face at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, CO. She began to travel to Colorado on a yearly basis when her daughter Kristi lived out there, and enjoyed exploring many areas of Colorado including Estes Park, The Royal Gorge, Cripple Creek, and especially the zoo to see the giraffes.    

  She loved to attend parades of any kind, loved old-time country music, loved big family home-cooked dinners, and the annual Mohrhauser family reunion. She loved to decorate for all of the holidays of the year. She was an animal lover her whole life, having shared her life with numerous cats and dogs, most of which were rescued.

  She met Leo Francis Matthews at a square dance and they married in December 2003. She moved to O’Neill, Nebraska, with him until she moved back to Sioux City in May 2017.

  Norma is survived by her children: Kent in the Sioux City area, Kevin (Betty Jo) in Des Moines, Kristi in Sioux City, and Keith (Susan) in Tennesee; her brother Gilbert  “Gib” (Rosemary)  Mohrhauser; seven grandchildren; many great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. She is also survived by two step-sons: Richard “Butch” and Mark (Connie).

  She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Wayne; her brother Verdell; her sister Shirley; her sister Elizabeth “Liz”; and a step-daughter Donna.

  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or to the Siouxland Humane Society.

  A huge thank-you goes to the staff at Pioneer Valley Living and Rehab in Sergeant Bluff for taking such great care of her for the past 4 years!