Norma McDonald Draper

Norma Pearce Earle McDonald Draper passed away at home in Kentfield on November 14, 2011 surrounded by members of her family and her husband of 63 years, Jerome C. Draper, Jr. They lived in Burlingame before moving to Marin in 1965, and then lived at the family vineyard in St. Helena for nine years, before returning to Marin County at the end of 1996. Although always modest, Norma lived a life of grace and skill that was remarkable by any measure.

Norma was born October 28, 1926 in San Francisco, the daughter of Agnes Pennycook Earle and Norman Pearce Earle, She never had a chance to know her father Norman, who died in a factory accident four months before her birth, but she had his curly hair and sharp blue eyes, and was equally proud of his achievements. Norman Earle was a graduate of Annapolis, second in his class, and was awarded the Navy Cross in World War I for sighting and sinking an enemy submarine. Her mother Agnes later married Justin McDonald (also of Vallejo), who adopted Norma and her sister Helen and helped Agnes raise them. 

Norma was a fifth generation Californian. She grew up in Vallejo, where her family, the Brownlies and the Pennycooks, had been active in founding the town, having settled there from Scotland in the 1850’s. She graduated from Vallejo High School in 1944 and attended the University of California at Berkeley, where she earned her B.A. in anthropology and was a treasured member of the Alpha Phi sorority. 

Norma was an athlete and accomplished horsewoman. She rode her horse Shantuck through high school and college and was a key member of the U. C. Berkeley ski team. Known for her flowing style, she competed throughout the U.S, but sadly declined an invitation to try out for the 1948 US Olympic Team. She was an avid tennis player throughout her life, and was on the courts until shortly before her death.

Norma was also an enthusiastic pilot. She and her sister Helen McGee flew together in air races from Mexico to Canada and across the country, including the Angel Derby, Palms-to-Pines, and the Powder Puff Derby. Norma was also a member of the 99ers, a women’s aeronautic service group that helped maintain small airports in California. She was a founding member of the Baja Bush Pilots (pilot #6), an organization that now numbers in the thousands. In Norma’s family, “wheels in the well” is synonymous with departure time.

With prodigious energy Norma learned whatever needed to be done -- raising home craft to an art. She became a fine woodworker, making beautiful tables and a set of Chippendale chairs for the dining room, starting with slabbing a log for the lumber and finishing by doing the upholstery. She recaned chairs and taught that art to others. She was a competent draftsman, drawing plats for her husband Jerry Draper’s real estate developments. She was a skilled designer, who applied her talents to creating the window and interior décor in the family’s San Francisco wine shop, Draper & Esquin and for 20 years she redecorated and furnished the rooms for their hotel in Hawaii. Norma was an accomplished pianist, who taught her children the joy of music and loved to harmonize when the family was singing together. She even disassembled and repaired an old player piano, tuning it as well. Norma was an imaginative and talented cook, always using seasonal fruits and vegetables. She was also known for her version of the Blum’s crunch cake, which became a family birthday staple, and her jars of “crunch” were always popular at bake sales and charity events.

Norma loved the outdoors. She had studied animal husbandry at U.C. Berkeley, and hoped to live on a farm. Norma lived sustainably long before it was fashionable, recycled and conserved water and energy, taught her family the importance of these habits, and was a strong proponent of preserving natural resources. Norma also loved gardening and had an amazing green thumb. She always had fruit trees and a vegetable garden for the family, as well as a menagerie of topiaries that she had created over the years, even building the wire frames herself. She collected miniature ivies, and could grow almost anything from a “slip.” 

Norma was first and foremost a wife and mother, who lives on in the gratitude of the generations that she mentored. They credit her for teaching them to ski from an early age, post against the trot of a horse, use tools (and put them away), create and enjoy a garden (whether in pots or acreage), repair all manner of objects, pack into the high Sierra (without forgoing freshly baked brownies), play formidable tennis, clean a house efficiently, do a multitude of things with a milk carton, sing and yodel.

Norma was always active in the community. She was president of the Coyote Point Junior Museum in Burlingame, den mother to a troupe of cub scouts, and active in Little League baseball. She also served on the Board of Trustees of The Branson School, where she received a citation from its Cum Laude Society that reads: “You soar in every way – in and out of an airplane.” She was a founder and current president of an investment club (Money Bags), and an active member of The Marin Garden Club. She and her husband were active members of a prominent Bridge Group for over 50 years. 

Norma is survived by her husband Jerome C. Draper, Jr., ; her children Ann M. Draper, Jerome C. Draper III (Mea McNeil), and Jessie P. Draper, her grandchildren Stephanie E. Pinkham, Joshua C. M. Cassady, Benjamin E. M. Draper, Jerome C. Draper IV, Ramond L. King, Lindsey D. King and many loving nieces, nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Helen, and her twin siblings Mary and James McDonald. A gathering in celebration of her life will be held at a later date.