Norma Lee "Becker" Nickle was born on June 1,1934 to the late Reverend R.T. and Jewell Becker in Springfield Missouri. It was the hottest June 1st on record and Grandma Becker told me that there wasn't a green sprig of grass anywhere. They brought their tiny bundle of joy home to the necessity of sleeping on the porch due to the unseasonable heat. Conversely, she peacefully departed this life on June 2, 2025 at Mercy Hospital, with the vegetation lush and green.

As a child, the family lived on a farm east of Springfield near Rogersville. It was a different day and time then.  She embraced her role in making the family successful during the difficult days brought on by the depression.  She was the little girl who stood on a stool in the kitchen, preparing biscuits, at the age of 7, for the members of the family who were assigned the outside chores. She remembered vividly hearing the news of Pearl Harbor over the radio.  She and her cousins would gather to swap feed sacks during those years so that each little girl had enough of the same print to make a dress out of.

She was an incredibly bright child, skipping a grade in school.  Learning new things was her strong suit and she loved school, attended the Kinser one room schoolhouse and subsequently Rogersville High School. Upon graduation, she attended Draughon's Business College and became proficient in all things secretarial. She thoroughly enjoyed each job, which started with the Hermann Lumber Company when she graduated from high school.

One day, Norma Lee Becker attended camp-meeting at Log Church in Barry County, Missouri with a friend that happened to have young Roger Nickle as a relative. A courtship ensued, and they married on July 27, 1956, in the home of a friend in Springfield, Missouri. Norma was a wonderful and devoted wife to Roger all his days, caring for him until he passed in 2023.

After she married, she was an extremely dedicated helpmate, as Roger's career advanced and evolved into the necessity for relocating the family periodically. After their daughter, Rogena Lee "Nickle" Brownwood was born, it was full steam ahead on caring for the young family and home. White shirts and white cloth diapers hung on her clothesline daily as she cared for an infant and an IBM'er. (She would have washed and ironed close to 10,000 shirts during his career) Norma was a wonderful mother and thrived in this new role as everything was in its place and there was a place for everything. Making friends was a very important part of her life, and she longed to keep each friendship as they journeyed from place to place. As his career took them back and forth from Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado and back to Springfield for retirement, she would eloquently weave selecting employment through Phillips Petroleum, Head Sports, Central High School and the Phil Groover construction company, only when it didn't interfere with the work and the needs of the family. Then came the joy and privilege of caring for the grandchildren and ultimately great grandchildren as she kept her fridge and freezer stocked with after school snacks during the grandchild era and root beer and ice cream for the great grandkids several years later.

Norma Nickle was a woman of faith. She prayed fervently and frequently for her family and friends. Her faith journey began when she was a child in the early 40's. She attended the Kinser Chapel Church and gave her life to the Lord at an early age. Her father, Reverend R. T. "Tommy" Becker told the story of his faith journey, which started with his young daughter.  He would drive to the church to pick her up and one day he heard her request prayer for his salvation, and it broke his heart and he and her mother subsequently were saved at Kinser Chapel as well. Thereafter, he received a call to preach and spent many years pastoring churches. Never underestimate the work of the Lord through the words of a child!

She was an efficiency expert before there was such a thing. Everything she did had a purpose and was planned the night before as she was preparing to go to sleep. She could clean the whole house, mow the yard and sweep out the garage all in the same day. If there was work to be done and she could do it, you could consider it DONE. She loved a good hard day of work. I really believe it was part of her worship. She would whistle hymns while she worked and sing songs of praise while she mowed the yard.  You could see the joy that came with the completion of a job well done. As a family we watched the Proverbs 31 woman in action!

She is survived by her daughter, Gena Brownwood and husband Mark, sister-in-law, Rena Henderson, grandson Jonathan Brownwood and wife Stephanie, her granddaughter, Elise Clement and husband Ross, her granddaughter, Katelyn Jones and husband Josh, great-grandsons, Jacob Clement, Grant Clement, Zachary Clement, Knox Jones and Miles Jones; great-granddaughters, Elizabeth Brownwood, Emily Clement, Ella Clement, Everly Clement and Norah Jones, along with many friends and family members.

We take great comfort in knowing that she is in the presence of her gracious heavenly father who led and guided her steps on Earth as she invited Him into her heart, her home and her family. As family members, we have no doubt where she is. She belonged to Jesus, and she prayed daily that all members of the family would give their lives to Jesus and live daily walking with Him. Heaven is sweeter since we know she is there. This isn't a "good-bye" but a "see you later" on the other side.

Visitation will be held from noon to 1:00 PM, Thursday, June 5, 2025, at Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home. Funeral Service will follow at 1:00 PM in the funeral home. Interment will be in Rivermonte Memorial Gardens.