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In memory of

Norma Joy Hart

Phoenix, AZ, USA

September 26, 1932 - March 18, 2021

Sep 26, 1932 - Mar 18, 2021

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Norma Joy Hart, of Phoenix, AZ, peacefully returned home to the Lord on Thursday, March 18, 2021, at the young age of 88. She passed away in Louisiana surrounded by her loving family and friends.

The second child of James and Nellie (Turner) Hart, Norma was born in Cozad, NE, on September 26, 1932. She attended school in Omaha, NE, and graduated in 1950 from Benson High School. That same year, Norma was led to the Lord by her friend and spiritual mentor, Frances Dora (Bishop) Janzen. Norma continued her studies at Omaha University and St. Paul Bible College in Minnesota. After graduating college in 1956 with a degree in Education, she spent a year at the Colonial School in Brussels, Belgium (and later the Sorbonne University in Paris, France in 1962), studying French and African Pedagogy. She boarded her first flight in 1957, arriving by herself in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Upon arrival, her first task was to learn yet another language: Kikongo.

Norma, fondly known as “Mama Hart,” dedicated her life to serving the Lord, spending 35 years with the Christian and Missionary Alliance as a missionary teacher in the Democratic Republic of Congo. First serving at the Christian and Missionary Alliance headquarters in Boma, Norma spent the majority of her time in Maduda teaching at Maduda High School, only returning to the United States on furlough every 4 years. In 1991, she was forced to evacuate due to civil unrest. Her legacy continues to glorify God through the lives of the thousands of students, her “children,” who passed through her classrooms, many of whom have gone on to be pastors, proffesors, community leaders, missionaries, teachers, physicians, and attorneys.

Norma attended Valley Community Church of God in Phoenix and was a member of Christ Community Church in Omaha. She loved the Lord, her global family, Shih Tzus, the Phoenix Suns and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. She was fearless, magnetic, gentle and caring; loving unconditionally and overlooking faults. She rarely forgot a birthday, and had a unique way of making a person feel special, regardless of how long she had known them. If you were her friend, you were considered family. Norma never forced her beliefs on others. Instead, she devoted every day to the Lord, truly allowing her actions to represent Him.

With great joy, Norma joins her “son,” Vitu Simon Mapianda; parents, James and Nellie Hart; brothers, LeDale Hart and Stanley Hart; sister, Janet Neben; niece, Sandra Garnette; dear friend and fellow missionary, Jane Raffloer; and beloved dogs, Duke Hart and Lily Hart. She also welcomes her “son,” Mbioka Evariste Mapianda, who passed away suddenly in Boma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on March 26, 2021. She is survived by her nephews, Kenneth Hart, Dean Hart, Doug Hart and James Garnette; nieces, Leigh Ann Holtorf, Terri Zeleski, Susan Higgins and Lorri Rogers; 23 great-nieces/nephews; 28 great-great-nieces/nephews; 2 great-great-great nieces/nephews; and faithful canine companion, Jack “Jackie” Hart. Only eternity will tell the true extent of Norma’s reach.

A memorial service will be held at Valley Community Church of God in Phoenix on Friday, April 9, 2021 at 2:00 PM. Arrangements are being made for an additional celebration of life service to be held in Omaha, NE in June, followed by her interment in Cozad, NE. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Norma Joy Hart Scholarship Fund (P.O. Box 99, Broussard, LA 70518) created to assist Congolese students with university expenses.

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