New Endowed Scholarship: A Beacon of Hope and Resilience

By Shannon Allen

On October 8, 2022, Marty and Jim Norman celebrated a milestone beyond their oldest grandson’s 16th birthday. It was the day Marty fulfilled a promise. Ten years and three months earlier, a car accident left her grandson, Strother Norman, paralyzed from the chest down. Strother's parents, Blythe and Darin, were spending the night regularly in the hospital with their son. To give them a chance to rest, Marty also spent nights in the hospital. She recalls one night when 5-year-old Strother called out in his sleep: “Marme, Marme … I have to climb this mountain. Help me climb this mountain.” A distraught woman wanting to console a child, Marty did what anyone would do. She took Strother’s hand, looked at him tenderly, and made a promise: “I will help you climb this mountain,” she told Strother. “We will all help you climb this mountain.”

Marty wrestled with that promise until Strother’s birthday. On that day, Strother received his driver’s license and drove away in a hand-controlled automobile of his own. “On October 8, 2022, that promise was fulfilled. When our family saw Strother drive away in that adaptive vehicle, we all witnessed a miracle,” Marty said, “for we all saw and knew that Strother had climbed that mountain.”

Strother’s Story

In reality, Strother has conquered mountains most of his life. At the age of 5, Strother was in an automobile accident that required the “jaws of life” to extricate him. He spent 44 days in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Cook Children’s Medical Center and had multiple surgeries. As a result, Strother has full use of his arms and retains great dexterity in his hand but has no feeling below the chest, which confines him to a wheelchair.

Strother received extensive care and rehabilitation from Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago. It became clear that Strother would not be ready for his first day of school at FWCD. Blythe and Darin thought the right thing to do was to withdraw him to make the spot available to another student.

Marty went to the School to begin the withdrawal process. She met with then Head of Lower School Shari Lincoln, who encouraged her to keep Strother enrolled. Marty recalls Lincoln saying, “We are a family here at Fort Worth Country Day, and we are here to help your family and Strother.” Strother’s Kindergarten Teacher, Caroline Corpening Lamsens ’99, echoed the sentiment and began planning ways to connect Strother and his classmates while he was in Chicago. “We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support our family received from everyone at Country Day,” Marty said. “Everyone was behind Strother from the start, wanting him to be part of the Class of 2025.”

On the first day of school, August 20, 2012, Strother and his classmates had a Skype video call so they all could meet. Lamsens’s goal was to ensure that Strother felt part of the kindergarten class despite the distance and his recovery. These Skype calls continued weekly, and Lamsens created videos on her iPad of activities to share with Strother to keep him learning and engaged.

A Supportive Community

To prepare for Strother's in-person arrival, Lamsens and Lincoln hosted programs and activities to help students understand what to expect when he started school. Lamsens and her kindergarteners pushed a wheelchair around campus to learn how Strother could travel to and from the Butler

We are a family here at Fort Worth Country Day, and we are here to help your family and Strother.

~ Shari Lincoln

Kindergarten and Lower School buildings and the Fischer Dining Pavilion. FWCD alumnus Rob Ritter ’06 spoke to students about his wheelchair – an extension of his body –and how he lives independently, driving to and from work every day in a special truck.

“Rob’s presentation was eye-opening, informative and inspirational,” Marty said. “I could not believe that Country Day was so willing and open to preparing Strother’s classmates in such a thoughtful way.”

Strother joined his kindergarten classmates in person on October 1, 2012, and has not looked back since. In the past 11 years, he has endured additional surgeries to ensure his mobility, but Strother’s sense of humor, resilience and strength of character have remained unshakeable.

In 2016, Strother, Blythe, and Lower School Health and Wellness Counselor Theresa Fuss introduced a wheelchair challenge to educate fourth graders on what a day in Strother’s chair feels like. The goal was to create a sense of empathy for the obstacles he overcame daily. “Strother Challenge” participants took “wheelchair training” with Strother before the challenge and completed a reflection piece in a journal. Strother taught students and faculty how to turn, slow down, wheel up and down hills, and safely maneuver up and down ramps.

Fuss was the first to take the challenge at the Lower School Red Ribbon Fun Run. “The fun run was eye-opening. Strother was rolling along with me, and we were progressing pretty well, but he wanted to go ahead with a friend, and, of course, I said yes,” she recalled. “As the grass began to build up in my wheels, I started to better understand Strother and his behavior. I don’t think we realized how hard it is to maneuver a wheelchair day in and day out.”

Lamsens also took the challenge. “The Strother Challenge was just that, a challenge,” she said. ”My day in Strother’s chair was filled with many emotions: happiness, sadness, laughter, victory and amazement for what Strother endures and embraces each day.”

When Strother was a student in the Mason Middle School, the Class of 2017 honored him with their graduation gift. They designated funds for an elevator to be installed in the Upper School, knowing Strother would one day be navigating the two-story building.

“What a blessing for this community to acknowledge and care for Strother so much,” Marty said. “Fort Worth Country Day is not just a school; it is a home, a community, a place of belonging. This caring community experiences joy and sorrow and celebrates stories of triumph and resilience. I truly do not know where we would be without this school. Jim and I wanted to do something that showed our family’s gratitude.”

Creating a Scholarship

That “something” turned into a charitable fund called Climb That Mountain. Recognizing the importance of endowments in providing financial stability and sustainability for FWCD, Marty and Jim established a need-based endowed scholarship. It is inspired by Strother’s incredible spirit and aptly named the Strother Norman ’25 Climb That Mountain Scholarship

“We knew nothing about creating a scholarship, so we reached out to Sandra Tuomey [Director of Advancement] and Caroline Lamsens to discuss our ideas,” Marty said. “I just knew we wanted to do something for this school that had given our family so much.”

Scholarship recipients are selected based on how they have climbed or are climbing a personal mountain of challenges (physical, emotional, psychological or developmental) and financial need.

“I hope this scholarship serves as a beacon of hope for students,” Marty said. “Strother is who he is thanks to this incredible community, and Jim and I want others to have this opportunity.”

Strother added, “I am happy to be the inspiration for the scholarship, but it all should be about helping others achieve their hopes and dreams.”

When developing the Climb that Mountain scholarship, Marty and Jim focused on helping the School. Strother’s focus was on impacting individuals immediately. He wanted to support recreation opportunities and expressed that desire to his grandparents. As a result, the Climb That Mountain charitable fund has four initiatives: educational scholarships, recreational mobility, developmental disabilities and international programs.

Nothing has stopped Strother's zest for life, athletics and activities. He has managed FWCD’s football, basketball and wrestling teams; he plays basketball, hunts and fishes. There really is nothing he won’t try. He recently was certified by Adapt-Able Scuba, which provides experiences in the medium of water for people with physical, emotional and developmental disabilities to enjoy scuba diving. At Strother’s request, Climb that Mountain provides funding to train individuals with physical disabilities to experience freedom of movement and independence in the water. He hopes to go on a trip to Cozumel and put those skills to use with his brother, Hodge ’27, and his father.

In addition, Strother gives back to the basketball team he played on for nearly seven years, the Dallas Junior Wheelchair Mavericks. “Most of our tournaments are out of town, which requires overnight stays,” Strother noted. “Some kids need the right wheelchair and equipment to play. Supporting the Mavs allows players to attend out-of-town tournaments and have the equipment to play at their best.”

A humble young man, Strother is focused on finishing his junior year while helping others through the Climb That Mountain Scholarship. “I want others in wheelchairs or facing challenges to feel hope and not worry if they have what they need to succeed and thrive,” he said. “I had been counting down the days for my driver's license since I was 8. Driving away on my own felt amazing.”

Marty and Jim Norman’s gift is an example of the impact you can make on the lives of others with a gift to the endowment through the Forward Together Comprehensive Campaign.

If you are interested in learning more about making a gift to the School’s endowment, please email Sandra Tuomey, Director of Advancement, at sandra.tuomey@fwcd.com.