Norma Lee Hale

Norma Lee Hale, born Norma Lee Hiser on August 30, 1939, in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, passed away on March 5, 2026, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, at the age of 86. The daughter of Asa and Verna (Ingle) Hiser, she spent her early childhood traveling with her family up and down the West Coast through Oregon, Idaho, and California, where the entire family worked in the fields picking strawberries, digging potatoes, and taking whatever jobs they could find. Every penny earned was saved until the family could return to Oklahoma, purchase a ranch, and settle on Beaver Mountain near Stigler. Norma attended approximately twenty-two different schools during her childhood, with some of her fondest memories from the years spent in Buttonwillow and Porterville, California.

As a young woman, Norma supported herself and her son by working as a waitress in Tulsa for many years. She later moved to Muskogee, where she began a long and successful career in sales, first with Rainbow Bread and then in other sales positions. With her characteristic determination, she eventually opened her own gift shop, Wise Buy, operating stores in Tahlequah, Pryor, and Checotah.

Norma held a deep and unwavering faith, finding great joy in reading her Bible and attending services at Immanuel Baptist Church.

She is survived by her son, Keith Hale of Muskogee; her brother, Harmon Hiser and his wife Sharon of Bentonville, Arkansas; her grandson, Sean Hale and his wife Ashley, and her two great-granddaughters, Isabella and Anastasia Hale, all of Muskogee; three nieces, Jackie Bates and Kimberly Taylor of Stigler, Oklahoma, and Lori Isenberg of Ponca City, Oklahoma; and three nephews, Ronald Hiser of Whitefield, Oklahoma, Steven Hiser of Chickasha, Oklahoma, and Dustin Hiser of Muskogee. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers, Stanley Hiser and Steve Hiser.