Lydia Rauch Norris - Obituary

n Sunday, February 23, 2014; the beloved wife of the late John "Buck" Norris; mother of Sharon Norris and the late John "Jack" Norris; sister of the late Tillie Roache, Daniel and Willie Rauch; grandmother of Jon and Josh; great-grandmother of Nikolas "Niko", Kostantinos "Kosta" and Theklitsa "Litsa". Relatives and friends are invited to Lydia's Life Celebration on Saturday, June 7 from 11:00am until time of the memorial service at 12:00pm at GEORGE P. KALAS FUNERAL HOME, 6160 Oxon Hill Rd., Oxon Hill, MD. Interment Arlington Ft. Lincoln Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Montgomery Hospice Foundation, 1355 Piccard Dr., Suite 100, Rockville, MD 20850 Lydia Wanda Rauch Norris was born on January 13, 1913, in Buffalo, New York. Her parents, Daniel Rauch (deceased) and Natalie Girsch Rauch (deceased) had immigrated to the United States from Germany in their early teens. In the early 1920’s the Rauch family moved to Mechanicsville, Maryland. They farmed there. Lydia had three siblings, her sister Tillie (deceased) and two brothers, Daniel and Willie (deceased). At the age of sixteen Lydia ventured out on her own and settled in Leonardtown, Maryland, where she worked as a switchboard operator. It was there that she met John (Buck) Norris. At age twenty they married. Over the years they worked at many jobs and Lydia frequently delivered newspapers with her baby son, Jack, in a basket on the front seat. In 1938 they bought three acres of land on Bock Road in Oxon Hill, Maryland, and built a home. Lydia was the seamstress for the neighborhood and her family. Buck and Lydia had two children, a son, John (Jack)(deceased) , and a daughter, Sharon. Buck passed away at age 62 and Lydia never remarried. Over the years, Buck and Lydia were active in the community. They helped found the Allentown Road Volunteer Fire Department and served as officers in that organization for many years. Lydia also worked on various charity functions for the Lady Lions and Lady Elks. Lydia was one of the founding members of the Oxon Hill Lutheran Church and attended services regularly until she was confined to a wheel chair. Lydia broke her hip and moved to the Shady Grove Center in 2000. She was a very social resident and visited her friends and staff throughout the nursing home. While able, she would take long walks using her wheelchair as a walker so she could sit down when she became tired. Lydia has two grandsons, (Sharon’s sons) Jon and Josh. Jon married Sophia and Lydia has three great-grandchildren, Nikolas (Niko), Kostantinos (Kosta), and Theklitsa (Litsa).