NORMA KATHRYN FRIEDEN

LAMAR- Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Oakton Methodist Church in Lamar for Norma Kathryn Frieden, 87, Lamar, who died Tuesday, July 4, 2023, at Cox South Hospital in Springfield. Burial will follow in Oak Grove (Oakton) Cemetery.

A visitation will be held prior to the service, beginning at 9 a.m.

Contributions are suggested and made payable to Oakton Methodist Church or City of Lamar (Wheeler Park), in care of the funeral home.

Condolences may be shared at www.dfhlamar.com.

Survivors include her husband Gary, of the home; two sons, Kurt Frieden and wife Belinda, Lamar and Kent Frieden, Joplin; a grandson, Cody Frieden and wife Lauren, Joplin and a granddaughter, Erica Frieden, Brunswick.

Mrs. Frieden was born Nov. 5, 1935, to Jerry Ambrose Collins and Dorris Laurena (Caruthers) Collins. She married Gary Allen Frieden on Nov. 16, 1956, in Lamar. They celebrated nearly 67 years of marriage.

She was born in Kansas City, Mo. and would tell of riding the train to come to Lamar to spend her summers on the farm. Mrs. Frieden and her mother returned to Lamar when she was in elementary school. She met her future husband as a classmate and together they graduated from Lamar High School in 1953. Some of her dearest friends in life are those she knew from a young age and had remained close to all these years.

Over the years she had worked at Lawnboy, the Savings and Loan and APCO.

Mrs. Frieden loved to golf and play bridge. She spent many Tuesdays at the Lamar Country Club golfing on ladies' day. Until just in the past month, she had continued to play bridge on a regular basis with her bridge girls. She was a member of Oakton Methodist Church and was often known to be preparing food to take for family meals being served.

Mrs. Frieden was a fun-loving, energetic woman who personified class and dignity. She was quick to greet you with a smile and offer a compliment.

Her greatest pride and joy came from her children and grandchildren and the accomplishments they each had. A quick glance around her home and there were pictures, newspaper clippings and information that related to each of them.