Celebrating the life of Dr. Norma Hayes Bagnall

Dr. Norma Hayes Bagnall, Professor of English at Missouri Western from 1980-1996, passed away on Wednesday, February, 26. She was eighty-four.

Norma went to college at the age of thirty-nine after raising her children and putting her husband through school. She began her work as a college professor at the age of fifty. She was to make the most of a relatively short career. She is the author of On Shaky Ground: The New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812, published by the University of Missouri Press in 1996. She was a two-term president of the international Children’s Literature Association (ChLA) from 1989-91. She was also president of the MWSC faculty senate. Norma was a Fulbright Scholar, taking a year to study and teach in the UK.

Norma remained active in the Literacy Coalition, the Friends of the St. Joseph Public Library, and the Women’s Press Club in her retirement.

Services will be held at Meierhoffer Chapel (5005 Frederick Ave, St Joseph, MO 64506) at 1 PM on Monday, March 3.