Noren, Wilma Alice Babb 

97 5/10/1912 6/19/2009 After a long and full life, Wilma Noren passed away June 19, 
2009, at the age of 97. A mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, she will be 
missed by all. Wilma was born May 10, 1912, in Buffalo, Mo., the youngest of 12 
children. Her childhood was spent growing up on a farm near Buffalo, where they grew 
their own food, made their own clothes and were primarily self-sustaining. Before high 
school she moved to Pauls Valley, Okla. After graduating from the University of Central 
Oklahoma, she began her teaching career in a small town near Tulsa, Okla., where she 
taught elementary grades and coached basketball. It was during World War II that she 
met Arne Noren while teaching military men and women how to install propellers on the 
new B17 airplanes. They were married and after he was discharged in 1945 they 
moved to New York City and then St. Louis, Mo. In 1948 their family moved to 
Beaverton. Wilma taught elementary school in the Beaverton School District for over 
25 years, touching the lives of many young school children. For many years she was 
responsible for teaching children the wonderful American tradition of wrapping the May 
Pole on May Day. Upon retirement, she continued her involvement in the schools, 
taught English as a second language through the Tigard Senior Center and was a 
member of the Tigard Retired Teachers Organization. Arne and Wilma spent time 
traveling to many places all over the world. They also both loved the time they spent at 
their home in Pacific City. Arne loved fishing while Wilma enjoyed walking on the beach 
in the early morning to see what the tide had brought in. Arne preceded her in death in 
June of 1999. Children, Karen Austin; Christine Richardson, and husband, Ed; and 
Richard Noren, and wife, Jo; grandchildren, Gregory and Jeffrey Austin, Matthew and 
Blake Richardson and Erik Noren and Emily Hernandez; and six great-grandchildren 
survive Wilma. A private family celebration of her life is planned.

Published in The Oregonian on 7/5/2009