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Norman Lewis Ferber |
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December 13, 1924 ~ January 14, 2018 |
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January 20, 2018 |
Norman Lewis Ferber, 93, passed away January 14,
2018, at the Boundary County Extended Care
Facility in Bonners Ferry.
Norm was born December 13, 1924, to Adolph and
Daisy Ferber in Ringgold County, Iowa.
He grew up in rural southern Iowa and graduated
from Tingley High School before enlisting in the
U.S. Navy in June, 1943. He and his brother,
Lyndon, received basic training at the Farragut
Naval Training Facility in North Idaho. He
attended Torpedomen's School and served in the
Philippines at the end of WWII.
He had a special fondness for the people and
culture of the area, evident throughout his
life.
In June of 1947 he married Patsy R. Hogue, also
from Tingley. They had two daughters, Patty and
Rhonda, and lived in Newton, Iowa, where Norm
was employed by the Maytag Company. In 1955 Norm
received a personal letter of thanks and
recognition from Fred Maytag II for his help to
end a strike which kept 3,000 employees out of
work for 10 weeks.
In 1961, he and Patsy divorced. He then
relocated to Colorado, where he worked as a
carpenter welder on many of the tallest office
buildings in downtown Denver.
When his youngest daughter, Rhonda, was
tragically killed in a car accident, he
reluctantly moved to Bonners Ferry in 2013 to be
close to family. He quickly felt at home here.
He was a strong, honest and kind man, going out
of his way to assist others. He prepared and
delivered coffee and breakfast every morning to
a neighbor for a number of years. In this same
senior housing complex in Denver he would clean
the snow from cars for fellow residents and he
was in his 80s at the time.
He loved family, children and animals.
He built a three wheel (open) car that he drove
on the interstate so fast that his jacket split
down the front. He found a parachute and tall
pole and made a huge tent for his girls. He
loved to read the funny papers and would cut
them out and mail them by the dozens to family
members. He always found ways to improve and
modify most everything, including his own
dentures. He loved to fish, "tinker" and he was
a great storyteller.
Norm was preceded in death by his father,
mother, brother, great grandson Joshua and
loving daughter Rhonda.
He is survived by daughter Patty (Al) Lopez and
grandson Gabe in Iowa, granddaughters Erica,
Andrea, Rhonda and Jodeen, all of Bonners Ferry,
12 great grandchildren, three great-great
grandchildren, a niece and nephews. |
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