Norma Lucille (Henninger) Maleskiage 90, died peacefully on the evening of February 12, 2016 at Kendal in Hanover, New Hampshire, where she and her husband Merce has resided for the past 10 ½ years.

The daughter, and only child of Grant and Olive Henninger of Shamokin, Pennsylvania, she was born on October 3, 1925 and grew up in the nearby village of Gowen City. She attended and graduated from Cornell University with a double major in Psychology and Sociology, and a minor in English Literature.

Following graduation, she was employed by Seagram and Sons distillery in Baltimore, Maryland, where she met her future husband. They were married on October 30, 1948. At the time of her death they had been together 67 years.

A cheerful, optimistic, open-hearted women who loved people for who they were and what they brought into the world, she lived for the next 24 years in or near Ellicott City, Maryland. There, she co-managed a household, raised two children, and volunteered in numerous church, school, and community groups. Her house was always welcoming; like her father before her, she was gifted in hearing not only what was spoken but what was unspoken, and accepting what was given without judgment or recrimination.

In 1972, she moved to Weston, Connecticut when her husband was transferred to New York City by his company, and lived there until 2002. For a number of years she worked in the marketing department of Weston Woods, an international company specializing in children's literature, videos, motion pictures and storytelling tapes. She delighted in passing on the best of these materials to her grandchildren as Christmas presents, birthday gifts, or simple surprises.

In 2002, she and Merce moved to East Grantham, New Hampshire to be closer to family, and in 2005, became residents of Kendal at Hanover. For several years, they were able to explore across the U.S. and Canada, but eventually growing respiratory problems rendered further travel impossible, and her world began to shrink. Macular degeneration gradually closed another intellectual vista to this omnivorous reader and prolific, bright, and frequently witty correspondent. Many people would have withdrawn and reacted with despair at such developments. But Norma accepted them philosophically as part of her life's journey. She determined to make the best of what came, and to the end expressed thanks for a rich, fortunate life imbued with beauty.

She is survived by her husband Merce, also a resident of Kendal at Hanover, New Hampshire; son Stephen, Sutton, Vermont; daughter Alice, Daytona, Florida; and grandsons Roger, Sutton, Vermont; and Nathan, Lyndonville, Vermont.

A memorial service will be held at a later date in the spring.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Rand-Wilson Funeral Home of Hanover, NH.