Psychologist loved kids, cats

5/30/2001

BASCOM, Ohio - Norma Jane Myers, a teacher and school psychologist for several decades in Fremont, died Friday in her home on State Rt. 18. She was 72.

Ginnie Stidham, a daughter, said Mrs. Myers died of complications from diabetes.

Mrs. Stidham said her mother cared deeply about children, and, as a teacher during the 1960s, saw struggling students who needed help with their problems.

“When she became a school psychologist, it was kind of a new thing,'' the daughter said. “There are a lot more of them now.”

Born in Springfield, Mass., Mrs. Myers graduated from Fostoria High School and attended Heidelberg College and Bowling Green State University. She received a bachelor of arts degree in education and master's degrees in remedial reading and school psychology from BGSU.

After working previously in Port Clinton and Elyria, Mrs. Myers became a teacher in the Fremont schools during the mid-1960s.

Her 42-year career in education ended with 11 years as the school psychologist for St. Joseph Central Catholic High School, in Fremont, from which she retired in 1999.

“She did a lot of good for our kids at St. Joseph Central Catholic. She was able to relate to kids really well,” said Mike Gabel, the school's principal.

Mr. Gabel said she “was a very positive influence on me” when the principal had just taken over at St. Joseph in 1997.

Following her retirement from St. Joseph, Mrs. Myers continued a private psychology practice in Fremont until her death, focusing on families and children.

Mrs. Stidham said her mother was an avid reader who favored Agatha Christie mysteries. Her travels included a trip to Soviet-era Russia. Mrs. Myers had a soft spot for cats too and occasionally took in strays.

“We usually had at least five, six, seven cats” in the house, the daughter said, and others were fed outdoors.

She is survived by her former husband, W. Howard Myers; son, Carl F. Myers; daughter, Ginnie Stidham, and five grandchildren.

The Mann-Hare Funeral Home, Fostoria, is in charge of arrangements. There will be no visitation. A memorial service is scheduled for 3 p.m. tomorrow in the mortuary.

The family requests tributes to the Jane Goodall Institute, Silver Spring, Md., or the Sierra Club of Ohio, Columbus.