Ralph Jay Norman

Ralph Jay Norman was born on March 23, 1948 in Marshalltown, Iowa to Lawrence and Gwendolyn (Cox) Norman. He passed away on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022 at home.

Ralph graduated from Union-Whitten High School in 1966 and from Minnesota Bible College (MBC) with a degree in ministry in 1970. While playing basketball at MBC, he met a cheerleader named Christine Sprenger, asked her out to dinner, made sure she could play the piano, and the rest was history. The couple was united in marriage in November 1970 and they were blessed with three children. Ralph was a dedicated and supportive husband and an amazing father. He knew how to play and enjoyed spending time throwing the ball and goofing around with his children and later grandchildren.

Ralph was very passionate about music and sports. He was involved in several quartets, most notably “The Volunteers” and “Victory Road.” His favorite part of The Messiah was when they sang “All we like sheep, have gone astray.” He loved all of God’s sheep. After church each Sunday, he would write down the names of everyone in attendance in a folder. He called it his Sheep “Fold”er. As for sports, in his younger days he would participate in any sport you could imagine, and you know he was keeping stats with each one. His favorite sports were tennis with his tennis partner, Bill, racquetball, church basketball, church softball (he hit his 1000th hit on June 25, 1995) and running. As he aged, he slowed his gait to a walk, but that enabled him to talk to more people in town and invite them to church. He would play golf daily if the temperature was 40 degrees or above. If he wasn’t playing a sport, you would see him at any youth sporting or music event to cheer on the kids, even if they weren’t his own.

Ministry was not just Ralph’s occupation; it was his life-long passion. His favorite greeting was “see you in church!” His commission included several church ministries over the years, including time in Aylmer, Ontario, Canada, Worthington, Minnesota and Minerva, Ohio, as well as several church camps. After the passing of his mother, Ralph returned home to the church he knew and loved, the Liscomb Church of Christ, to serve as their lead pastor.

Ralph never knew a stranger and could talk to anyone anywhere. He influenced many, many lives over the years, especially those in his youth groups. Youth ministry was his true calling, and he was always very involved with the youth, no matter his title. Ralph never took himself too seriously and found a way to make ministry fun. He had a great sense of humor and could take a joke as well as he could dish one out. He was well-known for his cheesy dad jokes and puns. Ralph could light up a whole room with his presence and had a special way of including everyone. His family lovingly called him the “Second Noah” because he wanted everyone to feel welcome in church (the Ark) and to know the love of his Lord and Savior.

Left to cherish his memory is his beloved wife of 52 years, Christine; his children: Molly Leis, Andre (Audra) Norman and Truly (Brian) Gannon; his precious grandchildren: Payton Leis, Liberty Leis, Jesse Leis, Avery Norman, Brooks Norman, Aiden Gannon, Gianna Gannon, Justus Ralph Gannon and Selah Gannon; his siblings: David Norman of Grundy Center and Betty Shoup of Reinbeck; several nieces and nephews and many extended family and friends.

In eternal life, Ralph is reunited with his parents Lawrence and Gwendolyn Norman, brother-in-law Jack Shoup and sister-in-law Linda Norman.

Services for Ralph will take place at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10 at the Liscomb Church of Christ officiated by his son, Andre Norman and assisted by Dave Harmon and Todd Thomas. He will be laid to rest at Liscomb Cemetery. Friends and family are also invited to attend a visitation from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9 at the Liscomb Church of Christ. Mitchell Family Funeral Home has been entrusted with the care of Ralph and his family. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Liscomb Church of Christ. For online condolences, please visit www.mitchellfh.com. Ph. 641-844-1234.

For those unable to attend, services will be available at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Mitchell-Family-Funeral-Home-99280714047/. Please be patient as not all services begin promptly at the start time. If there are any technical difficulties with the livestream, a recording of the services will be uploaded to the page at a later time.