Norm Ridinger, 97, of Creston died March 25, 2015, at Creston Nursing and Rehab.
Celebration of life services will be 11 a.m. Monday, March 30, at Powers Funeral Home, junction of highway 34 and 25. The Rev. Dan Moore will officiate. Burial will be in Maple Hill Cemetery in Cromwell. Open visitation will be 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday with family present 3 to 5 p.m at the funeral home. Memorials are to be established. Online condolences may be left at www.powersfh.com.
Norman Calvin Ridinger, son of Lena Olive (Katzenbarger) and Raymond Park Ridinger, was born Aug. 10, 1917, on a farm south of Murray. Norm grew up on farms in that area and went to Doyle Country School and Murray High School.
His careers went from delivering mail on horseback to engineering the Amtrak. He began working for the Burlington Railroad in 1942 as a fireman shoveling coal. Over the years his jobs with C.B. & Q. changed. He worked out of Saint Joseph, Mo., Pacific Junction and Council Bluffs, Iowa.
After retiring he worked for Buxton and West Auctioneer’s as a ringman. During this time he managed a farm south of Afton.
On Oct. 29, 1939, Norman married Donella Newton in Murray. They lived in Murray, Creston, Saint Jo and then moved back to Creston. They divorced in 1945.
On Aug. 15, 1950, Norm married Claudine Utterback in Minnesota.
Norm and Claudine lived at the country club outside of Creston for many years.
Norm is survived by his daughters, Sue South of Melcher-Dallas and Janet (husband Larry) Adair of St. Charles; grandchildren, Tanya Jones and Brent (wife Dana) South, all of Knoxville, Shelley (husband Dennis) Peck and Sonia (husband Tom) Hutton, all of St. Charles, and Kelly (wife Kathy) Adair of Indianola; six geat-grandchildren; one great-great-grandson; stepdaughter Joy Swenson of Idaho and her daughters, JoLee, Susie and Shelly and their families; and special friend Bill (wife Lola) Bennett of Sandpoint, Idaho.