Norma Faye Sonne, age 80, of Woonsocket and rural Letcher, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 18 at the Prairie View Care Center in Woonsocket. Funeral services were Monday, Nov. 23 at the Storla Lutheran Church. Burial  was at Trinity Lutheran Cemetery, rural Letcher. Pastor Al Goldhammer officiated. Visitation was held at the church Sunday afternoon. with a prayer service at 4 p.m. and one hour prior to service at the church. Arrangements were by Basham Funeral Home, Woonsocket.
Norma (Birger) Sonne was born July 26, 1935, to Joseph and Gladys (Bellon) Birger near Wagner. She attended Ravinia High School and received her teaching certificate from Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen. She married Robert (Bob) Sonne on Nov. 23, 1956, at First Lutheran Church in Mitchell.
She taught at Longfellow School in Mitchell and then moved to Ft. Lewis, Wash., to be with Bob while he was in the Army. In 1958, they returned to South Dakota, where they raised their family and she worked for 26 years at the Storla Nursing Home and was a teachers aid at Elliot School.
She was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church, where she held the church secretary position for 31 years, taught Sunday School and Bible school for many years and was a member of Ladies Aid. Norma always had a smile on her face, especially when it came to her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. She loved to watch sports when her family was playing. She loved reading, listening to music and reading her daily devotions.
Norma is survived by four children, Greg (Char) Sonne of Mt. Vernon, Gail (Lincoln) DeKramer of Canistota, Brian (Tami) Sonne of Mt. Vernon, and Jeff (Jennifer) Sonne of  Letcher; nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; nine brothers and sisters, Thelma O’Donnell, Connecticut, Wilma (Lennis) Sonne, Mitchell, Rodney (Verlene) Birger, Harrisburg, Phyllis Kieser, Minneapolis, Minn., Larry (Judi) Birger, Jamestown, N.D., Sherrill Watters, Bridgewater, Doug Birger, Sioux Falls, Pam (Ron) Martin, Tyler, Texas, and David Birger, Sioux Falls.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Bob; parents, Joseph and Gladys Birger; in-laws, George and Hannah Sonne; brothers-in-law, Bill Kieser, Jack O’Donnell, David Watters, Mike Duncan and Gordon Sonne; sisters-in-law, Edel Duncan, Irene Sonne and Bonnie Birger; nephew, Steve Sonne; and niece, Paula O’Donnell.