Cynthia Allene (McCausland) Mason

Cindy was born in Warren, PA to William Taylor and Allene Dorothy (McMichael) McCausland on June 23, 1942. A true Renaissance person, she could play the piano and flute, cook, bake, knit, sew, and decorate on top of her fierce intellect and side-splitting sense of humor. Her wanderlust was apparent as a young 5-year-old child when she would roller skate from one end of Warren to the other. She could run barefoot faster than anyone, including her father, and could stand on her head and do cartwheels, into her fifties.

After raising her children, Cindy went back to college at SUNY Fredonia and swiftly graduated cum laude and earned her MA. She started her teaching career as a teaching assistant at Fredonia State in the English department and a student teacher at Sherman Central School and a semester in Canterbury, UK. She was employed by the New York State Department of Corrections in Brocton, NY as a literature Instructor until her retirement in 2007.

From her first trip to Alaska, where she met her husband skiing at Cleary Summit in Fairbanks to one of her trips to visit her youngest granddaughter in the Philippines, travel was in her genetic makeup. She would pedal her 10-speed bike back and forth from Portland to Westfield on Route 20, take her kids out of school to take rides in the country in her VW Bus, and did a cross country drive to California and up and down the West Coast. She visited Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Mexico and the Philippines as well as most of the US and Canada. She encouraged all she knew to see and experience places near and far.

As a generous and caring mother, grandmother, and friend, she loved to have her children and grandchildren at her lake cottage for campouts with fires and tents, swimming, kayaking, snorkeling, sea glass finding, and continuous food. Watching the eagle nest outside her window, drinking a Pepsi, eating a sweet, reading a book, and listening to the waves were essential.

Cindy read constantly throughout her entire life. She loved fiction, specifically Irish and Russian literature, but was also up to date on current news and science by absorbing every issue of Newsweek and National Geographic. She would read the entire New York Times every Sunday and complete the crossword. Her children could always rely on her to supply accurate answers on their homework assignments. She casually won most Scrabble games she played.

She provided a place to stay or a means for assisting friends and strangers in many ways throughout time. Cindy welcomed all people into her life and celebrated everyone’s unique and varied background.

Cindy was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, William Norrgard and infant daughter, Kristin Norrgard. She is survived by her sisters, Penelope (James) Deakin, and Deborah (Harold) Kwasniewski, her brother, William McCausland, Sister-in-law, Jean McCausland, daughters, Rebecca Norrgard and Jennifer (Richard) Tyger, sons, William (Marie Chris) Mason and Jeffrey (Allison) Mason. Cindy leaves 10 grandchildren: Jacob (Brittany) Berger, Gunnar Berger, Blake Tyger, Drew Tyger, Ethan Tyger, Max Tyger, Gabriel Tyger, Julia Mason, Aidan Mason and Alicia Mason. She is also survived by many siblings-in-law, cousins and nieces and nephews.

The family of Cindy is very grateful to the staff at Westfield Absolut Care for their gentle and caring attention during her stay there.

Funeral services will be private. Donations in her memory may be made to http:// feedthechildren.org.

Online condolences may be made at larsontimko funeralhome.com.

Arrangements by David J. Dengler, LARSON- TIMKO Funeral Home.

” I will arise and go now, for always night and day I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore; While I stand on the roadway or on the pavements grey. I hear it in the deep hearts core.” – William Butler Yeats.