Thelma Augostat played violin in a trio as a young woman.[4][7] She became medical records librarian at a hospital in Macon, Georgia in 1959.[8] There, Van Norte established a training program for blind medical transcriptionists.[9] She was also a consultant to USAID, and spent time in British Guiana, teaching and establishing a medical records library at a hospital for leprosy patients.[10] In the 1970s, she worked on contacting families of deceased Central State Hospital patients. "We just hunt, hunt, hunt until we get a clue," she explained in a 1973 newspaper article.[11]
Harold Russell and Thelma Van Norte, from a 1966 publication of the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped
Van Norte received the 1966 Georgia State Public Personnel Award,[12][13] and the National Public Personnel Award from the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped.[14] The national award was presented to her by actor Harold Russell at a banquet in Milwaukee.[1][5]
Personal life
Thelma Augostat married physician William M. Schindledecker in 1932;[15] they had two sons, Samuel and Robert, and divorced in 1946. She married again, to Lloyd F. Van Norte, before 1950. He was postmaster of Edisto Island, South Carolina.[4] She died in 1985, at the age of 73, at a hospital in Sandersville, Georgia.[6][16]
References
^ a b"Mrs. Van Norte Receives National Award for Work". The Macon Telegraph. 1966-10-20. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Obituary for Otto Augostat". The Indianapolis Star. 1977-01-05. p. 38. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
^Arsenal Technical HIgh School, The Arsenal Cannon (1927 yearbook): 18. via Ancestry
^ a b cMcKay, Blythe (1959-10-04). "Librarian at Hospital Continually at College". The Macon Telegraph. p. 23. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
^ a b"Public Personnel Award" Performance: The Story of the Handicapped 17(5)(December 1966): 5.
^ a b"Mrs. Thelma Van Norte, retired records librarian". The Atlanta Constitution. 1985-08-13. p. 74. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
^Frye, G. Shubert (April 16, 1928). "Fishing the Air". Indianapolis Times. p. 8. Retrieved May 4, 2023 – via The Hoosier Chronicles.
^"Macon Hospital Gets New Medical Records Librarian". The Macon News. 1959-07-15. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
^Fortston, Mary (1960-09-23). "Typists at Macon Hospital Find Blindness No Handicap". The Macon News. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
^Jones, Sara (1962-07-10). "Staff Member at Macon Hospital Returns from Similar Job in British Guiana". The Macon News. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
^Lanier, Linda (1973-05-02). "Central State Patients, the Forgotten Ones". The Macon Telegraph. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Mrs. Norte is Given State Award". The Macon Telegraph. 1966-10-08. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Macon Proud of State Winner". The Macon Telegraph. 1966-10-11. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Maconite Cited for Work with Handicapped". The Macon News. 1966-10-19. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Marriage Licenses". The Indianapolis Times. 1932-10-18. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Thelma Van Norte, 73, retired medical librarian". The Macon Telegraph. 1985-08-12. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.