Norah Margaret Bretall
April 26, 1935-Dec. 10, 2020
Ketchum, ID
Submitted by Kristine Bretall
The one and only Norah Margaret (Turnbull) Bretall passed away on the evening of Thursday, December 10, 2020 after having suffered a catastrophic stroke that morning at her home in Ketchum, Idaho. Norah was a fierce and formidable force of nature and was passionate about books, her family, hockey, volunteering, giving gifts, travel, cooking, tennis, making friends with anyone and learning more about any and all things.
Norah was born in Rochester, Minnesota on April 26, 1935 to Dr. and Mrs. Andrew Turnbull who were there while he specialized in radiology at the Mayo Clinic. After time in Durham, North Carolina, the family returned to Canada (Victoria, BC) where her brother Malcolm was born in 1938, and then settled in Vancouver, BC where her brother Rod Turnbull was born in 1946. Norah was instrumental in helping raise Rod while finishing her primary and secondary schooling. She spent a year studying at Western University in London, Ontario, but having mastered both playing bridge and watching hockey, she was “called back” home to finish her bachelor’s degree in history at the University of British Columbia where she was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. After working for her father as an x-ray technician, she learned of better opportunities ‘south of the border’, Norah moved to Seattle in 1959 and at the pool at her apartment building met another one in a million, Graeme. They married in 1960 and this past June 25 celebrated 60 years of marriage.
From their original home base in Seattle, Graeme and Norah made their first forays together to Sun Valley, Idaho in the early 1960s. In 1968 the couple moved to Menlo Park, California (and in 1978 to Atherton) with their three children: Karen, Scott and Kristine, and California was home until moving full time to Idaho in 2017. Members of Ladera Oaks Athletic Club and then the Menlo Circus Club, Norah was a very competitive 4.0 tennis player and participated in countless tournaments. Being involved was a part of Norah’s DNA. She threw herself into every activity of all three kids: timing at endless swim meets, standing in the rain at soccer games, making food for the concession stand, driving carpools, learning the intricacies of water polo – and at every event, she was cheering the loudest of anyone for her kids. While she took care of all the details for us, she kept up a busy life of her own: tennis, book clubs, volunteering, hosting international students and going back to work first at Patrick James at Town & Country Village and then at the Stanford Business School, where she befriended many students and got the inside scoop on the burgeoning Silicon Valley tech world.
A favorite part of our family’s memories and some of our longest friendships are from her volunteer work with the International Center at Stanford University. She first taught ESL there and also helped organize the homestay program for graduate students. We were a host family every fall for two graduate students to help them adjust to living in the US. She thrived on helping them find their way in Palo Alto and we hosted over 30 students from over 15 countries, and she managed to keep track of most of them over all these years. These international students set a course for the family to love travel and to always find room at the table for anyone needing a hot meal and sense of home.
Norah was a fantastic cook and generous hostess and loved hosting a party for any occasion. In 1989, Graeme and Norah built a home in Ketchum, Idaho that became the true center for their lives. During summers and winters over the last 20 years, volunteered extensively in Sun Valley, most recently as a volunteer two days a week at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Ketchum, until Covid prevented her from working - which was a deep annoyance to her. In 2018, she was awarded the Rector’s Cross at St. Thomas in honor of her work there and she was deeply proud to have been recognized.
She always looked out for others, spotted the humor in every situation, and loved to laugh. She had a wicked sense of humor and was more than a bit of a troublemaker. Some friends have shared thoughts that we want to share: “Norah always wanted to help people, even when they didn’t want it.” Another friend said, “she was always generous in giving her opinion.” And finally: “Norah could solve problems you didn’t know you had.” She will forever be cross to be missing any fun time, a good chuckle or piece of news and any place that her friends and family would be gathered. Those she left behind are: her husband Graeme, daughters Karen (Steve Bloomfield) and Kristine, and her son Scott (Erin Gillett); grandchildren Heather and Michael Bloomfield, Lucy and Fritz Bretall, brothers Malcolm (Shirley) Turnbull and Rod (Christine) Turnbull and their children – and her sweet dog, Opie. She always insisted she didn’t want a funeral, but wanted a party “where everyone laughs and has fun.” We couldn’t do otherwise, so a celebration will be held in summer of 2021. Her remains will be placed in the columbarium at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Ketchum, Idaho with her family around her on Friday, December 18. If you need to grab a dictionary for that word, she’ll be happy you did. Norah always had one on her bedside table to make sure she didn’t miss learning a new word in any of the many books she always had going.
Remembrances may be left at www.woodriverchapel.com
