Norman Joseph Strohsahl

Norman Joseph Strohsahl A celebration of the life of Norman Joseph Strohsahl,75, will be held Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 2 pm. at the Croley Funeral Home in Gladewater, with Rev. Scott Schulik and Dr. Charles Barham officating. Interment will follow at the Rosedale Cemetary. Visitation will be on Wednesday night from 6 pm until 8 pm at the Croley Funeral Home. Norman was a quiet man who happily went about doing his job and doing it well. He owned and operated Louis Morgan Drug #3 for over 30 years until he retired in 2005. The gifts he made to the Pine Tree ISD and to the community were many but seldom noticed. He always said he would have been a pharmacist even if he had not made a living doing so. He knew all of his customers, and they knew him. The hardest part of having to retire because of the disease of Parkinsonism was not going to work and visiting with his customers. Children ran back to see "Mr. Norman" and he always had time for them. His deliver boys went to every home in the Greggton community delivering the medicine, sometimes picking up a quart of milk or a carton of eggs if the customer was a shut-in. His was a life of service, and he truly loved what he did. Norman graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1953 and went on to get his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy in 1957 at the University of Arkansas. Upon graduation he took a position in a pharmacy in Shreveport, Louisiana. At the end of the year he had completed both requirements to be licensed by the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy and the Reciprocity to the Louisiana State Board of Pharmacy. He was drafted immediately upon completion of his degree. His tour of duty wound up in the pharmacy of Brooke General Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. During that time he also completed his Reciprocity with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy and worked part-time in a chain store in San Antonio. He came to Longview in 1960 to work for Mr. Louis Morgan at the Louis Morgan Drug Store on High Street. It looked like things were going to be good until the Cuban Crisis occurred in 1963, and he was recalled to serve with the 149th Evacuation Hospital in Ft Sill, Oklahoma. He had a year of intensive training with this hospital unit but went AOL many weekends to come home to his wife and child. He could only sign out to Mineola, so past that point he was AOL. Mr. Morgan financed him to purchase Louis Morgan Drug Store #3. His first major decision was not to open until 1 pm. so he and his employee's could attend church. That was an example of how he showed his love of the church. Norman received a certificate from the Arkansas School of Pharmacy for serving the community as an active pharmacist for over 50 years. Norman was in a class of five members when the college was designing the doctoral program called Pharm D. Some twenty-five years after graduation he was rewarded this degree and went up to Little Rock for the ceremony. He became Dr. Strohsahl at that time. He likes to say he graduated fourth in his class at the University of Arkansas but then follows it up by reminding his listeners of the number of members of the class. From 1960 when he joined, Norman became an active member of Mobberly Avenue Baptist Church. He and his wife, June, worked in the College and Career department for several years. Norman served on numerous committees, and was active in several building campaigns. When the new church was located out on the loop, they volunteered to serve there. He decided to help Mr. Burnley with the coffee and the records and gradually as the church grew got the job of keeping records for the early classes. In truth, this was just his way to skip out of being in a class taught by his wife. He knew all the staff members and watched the growth of this church. He had accepted early that tithing was a way of life and truly practiced this. In every facet of his life, Norman did his part. He joined Rotary in the 70's and read all the literature to understand what Rotary represented. His dedication resulted in being selected to serve as President of the Longview Greggton Rotary club in 1976. He was given the job of secretary of South Central Rotary Youth Exchange and became actively involved in this program of Rotary. His wife recalls he came home from Rotary one day to announce that he had volunteered to host a youth exchange student for a year. At the time they had three children of their own living at home with the oldest being a 7th grader. They survived this first experience as host parents and turned it into nine students from all over the world living in their home. Then they arranged to have all three of their own children become exchange students. The daughter and the son were hosted in Germany and the younger son was an exchange student in Finland. Rotary really meant something to Norman, and the district rewarded him with the honor of being District Governor in 1989. The theme that year was "Enjoy Rotary". One of the walls in the living room is covered with banners and certificates from all over the Rotary world. His travels were many but he was prepared for this final trip by knowing his final destination. On Sunday afternoon at 5:30 pm he left on his last trip quickly and quietly entering a final home with a happy smile to be able to walk in the halls of glory. Norman was born on August 28, 1935 in Little Rock, Arkansas to Norman Edward Strohsahl and Mollie Haynie. He was preceded in death by his parents, Norman and Mollie, and a daughter-in-law, Vickie Strohsahl. His survivors include his wife of 53 years, June: three children: daughter, Cheryl Ann Strohsahl of Houston; son, Charles Norman Strohsahl (wife, Vickie, deceased) of Longview, step-daughter, Jennifer Wood and husband, David, and three grandchildren, Skylar, Kaiden, and Noeah., and son, Craig Joseph Strohsahl of Gladewater, his wife, Candy, and three stepchildren, Brittany, Morgan, and Layne. Survivors also include his only brother, Francis Michael Strohsahl, of Jacksonville, Florida., and his four children and six grand children, his cousins, Lynda Abney of Houston and children; Joe Haynie and wife Anna of Ft.Stockton and children; and Dennis Haynie and wife Tevis of New Orleans and daughter. Pallbearers will be Gene Robertson, Raymond Shelton, Henry Lamb, Harold Hogan, Barnie Bunt, Pope Fisher, Joe Semlear, and T.J. Campbell. Memorials may be made to the Polio Plus Campaign of Rotary International through the Longview-Greggton Rotary Club, P.O. Box 1166, 75606, or to the Church of Your Choice.