Mrs. Nora Louise Hasbrook Reiter, longtime Alma, WI, resident, passed away on January 4th in the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Robert Hunter, in Seattle, WA.
Nora Louise Hasbrook was born on January 5th, 1918, in Cartwright, McKenzie County, North Dakota. She was the beloved daughter of Charles W. Hasbrook, mail carrier and farmer and Lillian Julia Thames Keilholtz Hasbrook, a homesteading teacher.
In 1920, Charles Hasbrook died, and the family, including siblings Charles and Lillian Keilholtz, returned to Mondovi, WI, to live with relatives. Nora’s uncle, Carl Claflin, a veterinarian, and her aunt, Olive Claflin, a homemaker, provided Nora, Charles and Lillian with a secure and loving home, enabling their mother to earn a living as a teacher.
It was Uncle Carl and Aunt Ollie who instilled in Nora a lifelong love of animals (especially ponies and pigs), and a reverence for the land which sustains us all.
Mrs. Hasbrook continued to teach in Buffalo County. When Mrs. Hasbrook was hired as county supervising teacher, the family moved to Alma, where Nora completed high school in 1935. She then matriculated to the Buffalo County Normal school. After receiving her teaching certification, she taught for one year at a rural school near Bluff Siding, WI.
In 1937, Nora met Fred A. Reiter, Jr. at his mother’s restaurant in Alma, the Alma Cafe, and in March of that year, the two of them eloped. Their union was blessed with five children, Fred August, III, Mary Ellen, Marcia Louise, Jane Elizabeth and Thomas Charles Reiter.
After the untimely death of her husband on April 9, 1957, Nora returned to the Buffalo County Normal School and was recertified to teach, resuming her professional life in a one-room school house at Griffin School near Gilmanton, WI, while raising a family and continuing her education nights, weekends and summers at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. Nora remained employed by the Gilmanton School District until her retirement in 1984, at age 67. She retired to her home on the hillside in Alma, with its view of the river valley.
In 2001, at age 83, Nora began a new adventure when she moved from her home in Alma to Des Moines, WA, a suburb of Seattle, near where her son, Tom, and daughter, Mary, lived. Nora lived in an apartment at Wesley Gardens, where she made many friends.
Nora’s health began to decline in November, 2012, and she died January 4th, 2013, in the home of her daughter, Mary, surrounded by loved ones, all of whom she recognized and spoke with until shortly before her passing.
Nora is survived by her five children, Fred A. Reiter (Barbara), Golden Valley, MN, Mary Ellen Hunter (Robert), Seattle, WA, Marcia L. Reiter, Alma, WI, Jane Reiter (Ronald Lintvedt), Milwaukee, WI and Thomas C. Reiter (Lisa), of Renton, WA.
Nine grandchildren survive Nora: Christopher Reiter, New Hope, MN, Patrick Reiter (Lisa), Plymouth, MN, Andrew (Marilyn) Hunter, St. John’s, Virgin Islands, Erica (Mark) Nordlund, Seattle, WA, Colin (Lyn) Hunter, Seattle, WA, Nicholas Lintvedt, Milwaukee, WI, Alexander Lintvedt, Minneapolis, MN, Shelby and Sarah Reiter, Renton, WA. There are five great grandchildren: Angus Nordland, Malia Hunter, Evangeline Lillian Lintvedt, Macy and Jack Patrick Reiter.
Nora is also survived by two nieces, Joan (Jerome) Baures of Galesville, WI, and Kathleen (John) Lucey, of LaCrosse, WI.
Nora was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Fred A. Reiter, Jr., her sister Lillian Dougherty, her brother Charles N. Keilholtz, Sr., her beloved nephew, Charles N. Keilholtz, Jr. and her special father and mother-in-law, Fred, Sr. and Sarah Reiter.
Nora loved her family, extended family and friends, literature and music, former students, pigs and ponies, our beautiful valley and a good political debate. She believed in concern for other people, loyalty to friends and a sense of fairness and justice in the world.
Nora was a member of the Eastern Star, the Democratic Party, the Retired Teachers Association and St. John’s Lutheran Church. She also volunteered at the polls on election days.
A celebration of Nora Reiter’s life will be held Sunday, February 3rd from 2:30-4:30 pm at Logan Hall, Wesley Gardens. 815 South 216th Street Des Moines, WA 98198.
A memorial service will be held in Alma on Saturday, July 6th, 2013, with visitation from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., a funeral service at 11:00 and a lunch in the fellowship hall to follow. Please join us to celebrate the life of Nora Louise Hasbrook Reiter. Bring your photos and stories to share, if you have them.