April 23, 1939 – January 2, 2022
Norman Ralph Strawn, 82, Sheridan, passed away on Sunday morning, January 2, 2022, at Hendricks Regional Health in Danville, Ind. Born on April 23, 1939, in Hamilton County, he was the son of the late Ralph Virgil and Joyce Lucille (Biddle) Strawn.
After graduating from Sheridan High School with the Class of 1957, Norman hired on at Biddle Manufacturing in Sheridan. Following in his father’s footsteps, he began learning the machinist trade. He would eventually retire after 44 ½ years of dedicated service to the company that his father, along with the late Ken Biddle, helped create.
Norman loved spending his life in the small town of Sheridan and sharing in the things that made it a great place to call home. A man of strong faith, he was a life member of the Sheridan First United Methodist Church, where he rarely missed an opportunity to attend their delicious coal suppers and other church dinners. During the last few years, he couldn’t attend as frequently, mostly due to health concerns. (Though it could be, in some small part, that his favorite spot, in his favorite pew, where he has sat every week since he was a child, fell victim to the dreaded “Do Not Sit Here” sticker of social distancing protocol.) He loved celebrating his favorite holiday, the Fourth of July, which is filled with plenty of Sheridan traditions – start with the parade, move immediately to Biddle Park to get a fish dinner before they sell out, follow that with some corn on the cob, and finish the day watching the fireworks show.
Raising his family in the same town he grew up in was by far the best part of living in Sheridan. Family was the most important thing in Norman’s life. He absolutely loved family cookouts and celebrating birthdays – piling everybody into the car, year after year, and heading down to the track to take in everything the Month of May could dish out – or teaching his children, usually through a pick-up basketball game, how to gracefully lose to dad, especially against his trademark left-handed hook shot. Norman was an avid sports fan. In addition to the 500, he followed Notre Dame football and the Indianapolis Colts, and he was a die-hard, never-miss-a-game Sheridan Blackhawk fan. When it was game time, his standing order was always a pizza and some of Leon’s famous iced tea. No matter who tried to make it, Leon seemed to be the only one who could do it the way he liked it. He enjoyed playing a good round of golf as much as just cruising around in his blue (even though red was his favorite color) 1992 Buick Riviera, which he still drove. Norman was also a supporter of the 2nd Amendment and of the NRA.
He loved his children and his grandchildren equally, but Daisy, his son’s Great Pyrenees, always seemed to be the favorite.
Norman is survived by his sons, Richard Norman Strawn (Wendy) of Logansport, and Leon Dean Strawn (Brenda) of Sheridan; daughter, Anita Marie Brillenger (Daniel) of Noblesville; seven grandchildren, Caitlyn Strawn of Westfield, Carolyn Sandahl of Westfield, Jacob Wade Strawn of Sheridan, Justin Dean Strawn of Fort Hood, Texas, Cecilia Brillenger of Texas, Clarissa Brillenger of Noblesville, and Serena Brillenger of Noblesville; great-grandchild, Lilly Strawn; brother, Ernie D. Strawn of California; sister, Gloria Young of Angola, Ind.; and former wife, Carol Ann Strawn of Noblesville.
He was preceded in death by his parents, and brother-in-law, Olin Young.
Services will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, January 11, 2022, at the Sheridan First United Methodist Church, 207 E. 2nd St., Sheridan, with Visitation from noon until the time of Service. Burial will follow at Crown View Cemetery in Sheridan. Pastor John Meunier will be officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be presented to the Sheridan First United Methodist Church.
Condolences: kerchevalfuneral.com