May 26, 1925 - October 17, 2013
Rev. Norman W. Schramm, age 88, of Pequot Lakes, MN, formerly of Bloomington passed away peacefully October 17, 2013. Norman was called to do the Lord's work and studied at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO graduating in 1949 and later became an ordained minister of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. He married Mildred Ackermann on June 19, 1949 in Lakefield. Together they served in Wilton, ND from 1949-1952, in McIntosh, Fosston and Mentor, MN from 1952-1956, and at Lutheran Church of the Redemption in Bloomington, MN from 1956-1991. Norman was preceded in death by his wife, Mildred; daughter, Teresa, siblings Lois Kietzer, Gerhard and Walter. He is survived by his children, Mark (Liz), Matthew (Sharon), Jonathan; son-in-law, Jim Browne; grandchildren, Andrea, Luke (Abbie), Madeline (Tyler) Folsom, Joel and Joseph; great-grandchildren, Brak and Brodie; sister, Dorathea Wentzel and brother, Martin (Dawn);
Memorials to Synodical or District Missions.
Dear Matthew, Mark and Jon,
I am so saddened to hear of your father’s death. He will be so missed. He was a very special man and I felt privileged to be able to keep in touch with him all of these 60 years that I have been so blessed to know him. Blessings, Kris Demmer Anderson
There is no doubt in my mind that God called Pastor Schramm into Christian ministry. God led and gifted him with administrative and pastoral skills to build and guide the congregation of the Lutheran Church of the Redemption. His labors effected many lives to God’s glory. All of his students in the Lutheran School of the Redemption memorized Scriptures and learned of God’s righteousness, grace and mercy. God’s Word never returns void and is foundational having an eternal effect on all the students who attended his school. I still remember the Scripture passages I memorized in the KJV as a student. My father, Harlan Knauf age 90, took seriously his calling to be an Elder under Pastor Schramm and continues living his Christian faith in prayer and hearing God’s Word. If it is true that you only tease those whom you love then Pastor Schramm loved his students and parishioners. He gave many of his students little, cute pet names of endearment. No pastor is perfect and good pastors always point to the perfect work of Jesus Christ who alone saves. All good pastors look to the day when they hear these words from their Lord, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.” I thank God for Pastor Schramm and his ministry to me and my immediate family. I pray that the Holy Spirit of God, our Comforter, will bring comfort, hope, healing and salvation to the hearts, souls and minds of Pastor Schramm’s family and friends. May we all long for the day when we will “know as we have been known” and lay our crowns at the feet of our loving Lord in worship and praise.
Such mixed feelings upon hearing about our beloved Pastor’s death…sadness for his family and friends…but joy in knowing that he is now in the presence of our Lord, hearing “Well done, good and faithful servant”. Maybe Dale and Joi had a little party upon his arrival. LOL
Even though Pastor Schramm has been gone from Redemption for a lot of years, in my mind he is synonymous with the church and school where I was raised. His influence affected my home life because he taught my parents and they passed that forward as they immersed us in family devotions, the example of their lives and in making sure we went to church and Sunday School. Keith mentioned Pastor’s pet names for us kids in Confirmation Class and that did make us feel special (which in middle school – we ALL need that, right?!?) He’s the only person that ever called me Cinderella. (Although most of the time, when we would shake hands after the service, he would mistakenly call me Jill. What was that all about?!?! haha)
Pastor, if you were still here, I would thank you for the years of service you dedicated to your Lord and Savior, the many hours you put in – preaching, teaching, counseling, visiting the sick, the many evening meetings, the myriad of administrative duties and decisions that had to be made, the family time you gave up, the baptisms, weddings and funerals you performed. You made such a big difference in so many lives. I loved your hugs. I loved your sense of humor. I loved your preaching. Thank you for teaching me about Jesus. I look forward to seeing you again someday – you’re gonna get a BIG hug from me!!
Cindy, I have to think Mel and Arlene Demmer will be at that party! :-)
I am so sorry to hear of Pastor Schramm passing. He was the best preacher and could always make you smile even if you didn’t want too.
What a wonderful place for him to be, in Heaven with our Lord. Thank you for serving God on His earth, Pastor!
My thoughts and prayers are with you as you say an earthly good-bye to a wonderful man of God. It’s with JOY, though, that I think of your parents and mine reunited in heaven with Jesus! It is hard to fill the emptiness here, but prayers for peace and thoughts of being together in the future!
To Mark Matt and Jon
The years have past since we all were together but never forgot the great times we shared with your family and mine .Every thanksgiving I always think of the family being at the church or at that time the gym to enjoy the holiday .uncle Norman was a awesome man and have missed
in these past years but never forgot my life is better for having Uncle Norman in my life
RIP — Phil Wentzel
To the Schramm family:
My condolences, and love to all.
I too remember the Thanksgiving feasts that Philip W. mentioned!
Rest in Peace Uncle Norman.
Mark, Matthew, and Jon
Our deepest sympathy to you. We know that God has called home His faithful servant. Your dad always said he loved coming to Willow Creek. He said as soon as he left town he began looking for the church steeple. He told me he loved seeing the steeple of the church in the middle of the country and the farm fields. It always gave him comfort to come back home to Willow Creek. We are sorry we cannot attend the funeral service tomorrow. We are in the middle of harvest. We are sending a donation in Uncle Normans name to Martin Luther High School in Northrop. MLHS is a LCMS school in our area that our children attended. I know Christian education was an important to Uncle Norman, so we felt that is a way to honor him and also help serve The Lord. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this time of grief. Our love to you all and your families. Love, Myron and Cathy
“Well done thou good and faithful servant”
I have many, many memories of Pastor Schramm as all have mentioned here on this condolences page. So many of us were educated at Redemption Lutheran School and he was our church Pastor, and teacher. I also remember his fun sense of humor. I think mainly what I remember is his dedication to teaching the youth. He always made sure we had a good youth program and learned to spread the gospel through his guidance. In Confirmation class he was pretty challenging! I remember sitting on the cold folding chairs in our choir and German classroom after school, squirming, taking notes, doing the lessons, and memorizing the verses with the goal of Confirming our faith in Christ our Lord. Pastor Schramm made sure that the youth’s education was a major priority at Redemption. When I grew older and went on in life, I questioned church doctrine. I used to visit him in his office and have great discussions of the sacraments with him. I also had the privilege of working with Mrs. Schramm and Theresa at Martin Luther Manor, also wonderful people. I am sorry I didn’t post earlier. I just found this page. Hugs of comfort to Mark, Matthew, and John. I love the memories that my friends share here. Yes, the founding men and women of Redemption, my Dad Harlan Knauf included, must have greeted Pastor Schramm with open arms, jokes, and songs when God took him home.