Norma J. Schonwetter, age 93, of Overland Park, Kansas, passed away on May 6, 2023.
Norma was born in New York City on Mother's Day, May 12, 1929, to Mildred and Michael Bade.
After graduating from Brooklyn College with a degree in home economics, she worked in New York developing, testing and writing recipes for magazines. After her marriage, she lived in the Detroit suburbs of Oak Park and Farmington Hills, Michigan. Norma was a two-time finalist in the Pillsbury Bake-Off and once in the National Chicken Cooking Contest. She resumed her career 30 years later teaching cooking classes to adults and mastering the microwave, eventually becoming a syndicated columnist and cookbook author of heart-healthy microwave recipes. She was active in the Greater Detroit chapter of National Council of Jewish Women, planning, editing and marketing a successful cookbook.
Norma loved to travel. As a result of traveling to many US states and 47 countries, she started writing travel articles. Her other interests were bridge, oil painting, water aerobics and trivial pursuit, which she pursued throughout her life.
She moved to Tallgrass Creek Senior Living in Overland Park in 2008 to be near family.
She is preceded in her death by her parents, Mildred and Michael Bade, and brother, Robert.
Norma is mourned by her son, Mark, and his wife Janice; grandson Michael and his wife Kasey and great-grandson Kelce of Overland Park; grandson Ben Wiedermann and his partner Andrea Moore of Claremont, California; and daughter, Wendy, of Auburn, Washington.
Contributions can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association (www.ku.alzheimers.org), Alzheimer's Foundation (www.alzfdn.org), or the charity of your choice.
A memorial shiva service was held on May 9, 2023, at Tallgrass Creek Senior Living in Overland Park. Graveside funeral services were held at Wellwood Cemetery in Pinelawn, New York.
