On May 25, 2026, Norma Lacht Stoll went to be with her Lord and Savior at the age of 91, after a time of failing health. Norma was born Dec.19, 1934 in Middletown, New York, to Julius Lacht and Lydia Laurer Lacht.
She was raised by her mother and step-father/Uncle Vladimar Lacht (Daddy Bill). She had a sister Vilma Lacht Ervin, and a step-sister Connie Lacht Wood.
Norma grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Manasquan High School in 1953. She then attended John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, majoring in home economics.
In her freshman year she met Charles Stoll, and they were married on Sept. 4, 1956.
Norma graduated from Long Beach State with a degree in home economics.
In 1958, they moved to Santa Barbara, where Charlie worked for Raytheon. They were members and served at Calvary Baptist Church (now Redeemer Bible Church) for most of their lives. Norma especially loved volunteering in the nursery and loving on the little ones.
The Lord blessed them with four daughters Christel Black (Jim), Lorelle Redfern, Janelle St Oegger (Dana), and Marcelle King (Mike). They have 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Norma came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior as a young person. Bible Study Fellowship was a means of her growing in the Lord. Norma was blessed to become a mentor mom for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers, now MomCo), encouraging young moms.
Norma was a very creative person. She enjoyed using her home-ec skills in sewing, knitting, doing crafts, and watercolor painting. She was a visual person, and had an eye for making everything beautiful.
Charlie and Norma delighted in traveling in their RV, as well as on cruises, and with tour groups internationally. They enjoyed cross-country RV trips, Hawaiian trips, and ocean and river cruises with friends.
In 2007, Norma and Charlie settled into Samarkand Retirement Community in Santa Barbara. They moved into a “cozy cottage” as Norma called it, and she loved it for over 15 years. She also enjoyed getting to know other residents, and often had women over for bible studies, prayer times, and simply social times, often serving her famous shortbread cookies.
These are verses that Norma wanted everyone to hear:
John 14:1-4, 6 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” … Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
And, John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
Norma was preceded in death by her husband Charlie Stoll, and son-in-law Larry Redfern.
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, June 8 in the Mountain Room at Samarkand.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Network Medical Women’s Center, 185 S. Patterson Ave., Ste. C, Santa Barbara, CA 93111.