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Norman Beidler was a Bluffton HS graduate

Was a member of the 1939-40 basketball team that advanced to the state tournament

Norman Beidler, 93,  of Turlock, Calif., died on Sept. 19, 2018.

Norman was born  Oct. 15, 1924, in Bluffton, Ohio, to parents Harvey and Minnie Beidler. He was a member of the 1939-40 Bluffton High School basketball team that advanced to the state basketball tournament.

He entered the Army shortly after graduating high school and served in Patton's 3rd Army, 249th Corps of Engineers in the European theatre of WWII from 1943-1945. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge.

He briefly attended Bluffton College where he married Ruth V. Campbell of Bowling Green Ohio. They moved to Cleveland, where Norm received his BS in Civil Engineering from Case Western Reserve in 1951. They had two children, Marty (Marsha) and Roger. The family moved to California in 1962 where Norman worked as City Engineer in Banning and later in Monterey Park. He and Ruth were divorced in 1967.

In 1970 he married Marjorie Cox Kempton.  In 1979, Norm left the public sector to work as a Contracts Administrator for Granite Construction Co. in Watsonville until his retirement in 1990.

 He was a 50+ year member of Kiwanis Service Club and volunteered many hours to church and the communities he lived in.

Norman was proceeded in death by his parents, his sister Ruth Beidler Jones, and his stepson John Kempton. He is survived by his children Marty Beidler (James Blaisdell) of Oak Harbor Wash., and Roger Beidler of Laughlin Nevada, along with Marjorie's children Jackie Zanini (Ron) of Springville California, and Kathy Churchill of Fort Bragg, California. He is also survived by Cindy Kempton of Fort Bragg, three nephews, a niece, and his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Services will be held Sunday, Oct. 28 at 1:30 p.m. in Berg Chapel at Covenant Village in Turlock. In lieu of flowers, donations in Norm's memory may be made to Covenant Village of Turlock Benevolent fund or to the charity of your choice.

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