Norma Lou Roop

Norma Lou Roop, (87), of Newark, DE, peacefully passed away at home on August 25, 2025. Her family is grateful to the staff of Bayada Hospice for the care they provided to all of us in the final weeks of Norma’s life. Norma was born and grew up in Flint, MI. Raised by her grandparents and mother, she graduated from Flint Central High School and worked as a model as a teenager. Norma loved horses and was frequently found at the local stable. Then she fell in love with Monty Roop and her life changed dramatically. Norma and Monty were married on July 21, 1956, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Flint, MI. Years later, she’d tell a story about how she got a bit tipsy at some wedding-related party or another, drinking Hotsy Totsy Eisenhower Specials. Turns out those are two different drinks so it was either one, the other, or heaven help her, both. As her granddaughter Grace would later remark, “Grandma was a good storyteller, even when the details weren’t entirely accurate.” By the time she was 24, Norma was managing a household as a mother of four children ages newborn to five. Her life was full of the ups and downs so familiar to women of her era. Summer day trips to the lake, four or more kids in tow. Weeks of caring for her children when mumps, measles, or colds made their way through the family. Singing in church choir, her clear soprano voice making her a popular choice as soloist. Struggling with depression at a time when it went unacknowledged and untreated. Selling Avon to bring in a bit of income while adding to her impressive cosmetics collection. Date nights with her husband, prepared for by sitting at her make-up table, artfully applying powder, lipstick, and so forth, finishing in a soft cloud of cologne. The joy and heartache of seeing her children off into the wider world. Once all the kids were in school, Norma went back to work. She spent her career as a receptionist for healthcare providers, a calm and reassuring presence for the patients she helped. She sometimes had a few choice words for the less-than kind ones, but only after the phone call ended. She worked for several different providers, in large part because her husband had a penchant for frequent moves. In her last position, Norma served as receptionist for the practice’s psychologist and was a representative for the newly-formed employee union. Norma enjoyed fashion; everything from skirt suits to hot pants, elegant dresses, and lots in between. She had a particular affection for matching shoes and handbags, earning her the nickname “Imelda” from her teen-aged kids. She also loved jewelry and was frequently seen wearing necklace and earring sets, while several rings graced her long, elegant fingers. She was a talented sewist, making clothes for her children and creating an entire work wardrobe for herself using the skills learned in her weekly Stretch and Sew classes. Once, when her husband decided to take the family out to a ball game, she spent her time at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium hand-sewing tiny Barbie clothes. Norma’s creativity extended far beyond sewing. She designed and hand-colored paper doll clothes when her daughters were young. Through the years, she explored all kinds of crafts, making Christmas ornaments, beaded jewelry, and intricately hand-knitted fisherman’s afghans. “Wait until I finish my row!” was a frequent refrain in the family home. In her retirement, Norma knit several hundred beautiful cable-patterned scarves to be distributed by local social service agencies as a volunteer with Care Wear. She enjoyed coloring in her later years, learning shading techniques and using photos to bring life to her favorite subjects of flowers and birds. Norma was also an avid reader who particularly enjoyed romance, fantasy, and mystery novels. If Norma was awake into the early morning hours, she could almost always be found with a new book in her hands. Norma loved her children though struggled with sometimes-turbulent relationships with them in their adult lives. She was fiercely proud of each one of them, telling anyone who asked about Gene’s talent with languages; Beth’s work running a pet visitation nonprofit and her success in showing her dogs; Linda’s talent in creating handmade plants and flowers from paper; and Jon’s achievements in badminton as a young man as well as his stellar military career. Norma adored her granddaughter, Grace. She proudly watched as Grace worked toward her life-long goal of becoming a computer game designer and enjoyed bragging about her granddaughter’s accomplishments as much as she did her children’s. Norma also loved her many canine and feline “grandkids.” Norma is survived by daughter and son-in-law, Beth & Paul Peterson of Dover, DE; daughter and son-in-law, Linda & Jason Majewski of Newark, DE; son and daughter-in-law, Jon & Lori Roop of Southport, NC; and granddaughter, Grace Majewski of Newark, DE. She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Harry and Violet Madison; mother. B. Ellen Griffin; husband, Monty Roop; and son, Monty (Gene) Roop. Fare thee well Norma, our mom, mother-in-law, and grandma. May you be at peace.

Norma Lou Roop

June 15, 1938 - August 25, 2025

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