Norma Jean Knigge, age 87, passed away on May 28, 2025, at The Village of Harmony in Watertown, SD. She was born on December 30, 1937, to Henry and Marcella (Kemptner) Knigge in Woonsocket, SD.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, June 5, 2025, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, followed by a Wake Service at 7:00 PM at Miller Funeral Home Westside Chapel, 6200 W. 41st St. A Mass of Christian Burial will be on Friday, June 6, 2025, at 10:30 AM at St. Michael Parish, 1600 S. Marion Rd.  Interment will be Friday, June 6, 2025, at 3 PM at St. Wilfred's Cemetery in Woonsocket, SD.

Norma was born and raised in Woonsocket, South Dakota. After graduating from Woonsocket High School in 1955, she attended Mount Marty College for four years and later earned a master's degree from the Loyola Institute of Pastoral Studies. Between 1959 and 1972, she lived in Hoven, Polo, Kranzburg, and Aberdeen, South Dakota. From 1972 to 2001, she resided in Chicago, Illinois, and has lived in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, since then. During her time in South Dakota, she taught in Hoven, Polo, Kranzburg, and Aberdeen.

From 1972 to 2000, Norma taught and worked in the Black community on the South Side of Chicago. In May 2003, she moved back to South Dakota. She is a member of St. Michael's Catholic Church and has been involved with organizations such as Bread for the World, Pax Christi, and Call to Freedom. She is also a former member of the National Association of Republican Women and the Chicago Catholic Women's organization. Norma had been affiliated with the Benedictine Sisters from 1956 to 1979 and opposed the death penalty and human trafficking.

In her free time, she enjoyed traveling. She visited various places in Europe, including Rome and Paris, and had also taken road trips with her sisters, Mary and Ila. She loved spending time outdoors, tending to flowers, and enjoying moments with her family, especially her nieces and nephews.

Grateful to have shared her life are her brother, Charlie Knigge; numerous nieces, nephews, family, and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, siblings, Mavis Steichen, Mary Kogel, Ila Burke, Raymond "Sonny" Knigge, Wallace "Bob" Knigge, Henry "Corky", Paul Knigge, two infant babies, and nephew, Robert "Bobby" Knigge.