When Norm and Jan Estes first moved to Lake Quivira in 1978, they were young and just beginning their life together.  They did not envision then that life on the lake would become part of their story for generations.  It would become the home where they not only raised their children and built lifelong friendships, but one where they would eventually return.

Today, Norm and Jan have been married for 64 years and look back on a lifetime of stories. They have three grown children and six grandchildren.  Thet lives have progressed from a college dance to the highest levels of academic medicine, from a Kansas farm and an Ozarks log cabin without running water to international medical conferences, and eventually back home.

Norm was a music major who played football.  Jan studied business education and was a cheerleader and president of her sorority. They met at a dinner and dance called the Howdy Hop. Norm was the first person to ask Jan to dance, although the story is that he had actually been looking for another blonde girl he could not find.

Jan continued to make sure he noticed her. She attended Norm’s first football scrimmage and cheered his name from the sidelines.  They soon started dating and never looked back.

After college, Norm spent six months in the service.  When he returned, he began spending summers in a laboratory, helping with research.  That experience helped change the direction of his life.

Norm decided to attend medical school and knew he wanted to teach. One of the people who helped shape that path was Dr. Loren J. Humphrey, a distinguished surgical oncologist, researcher and educator, who lived in Lake Quivira. Humphrey became a mentor who helped shape Norm’s own path in academic medicine, and his connection to Lake Quivira drew Norm and Jan to the community.

Norm completed his surgical training at the University of Kansas Medical Center (https://www.kumc.edu/) and went on to become a professor of surgery. He served as Chief of Staff at the University of Kansas Medical Center for six years before becoming Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria.(https://peoria.medicine.uic.edu/)

His career combined surgery, teaching, research and medical leadership. He published extensively in surgical oncology, participated in national clinical research involving breast and gastrointestinal cancers, and received numerous teaching awards. He became known as an advocate for students and residents.  

The mentorship Norm received became something he later passed on to others.

From 1978 through 1998, Norm and Jan lived in Lake Quivira while raising their three children, Melissa, Dain and Matt.

Jan had a background in education herself. She taught at a community college and received a teaching award. She also taught speech and drama and directed plays. Later, she became a homemaker and devoted herself to raising their family.

Norm coached soccer, and both of their sons went on to play on state championship teams.

When their children had grown, and Norm’s career took them to Illinois, the couple moved into a high-rise. Norm led the surgical department and was responsible for residents in his program. They rented and later sold their Lake Quivira home.

Their new home in Illinois became a gathering place. Residents and their spouses were welcomed into their home, where Jan cooked and entertained. She became known for helping young doctors and their spouses navigate the demanding years of medical training and even received an award for her hospitality.  Some couples even credited Norm and Jan for helping keep their marriages together.  

To this day they still receive flowers every year from a couple from Greece who they had mentored.

Then the unthinkable happened.

 Jan was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and would eventually need a lung transplant. As her health declined, she required oxygen. Norm took emergency retirement so he could care for her.

They decided to return to Lake Quivira, where Jan felt safe and where they had built deep friendships.  Jan had been president of the Mother’s Club and a part of a group sometimes affectionately referred to as the “Mother’s Mafia” by their children.  Some of the women still meet together today.

Norm has, over the years, belonged to the Investment Club and he played in the Quivira Band.  Music has always been an important part of his life. He plays the saxophone and at one point was even jokingly called the “sax offender” because he owned multiple saxophones.  He also had his own band for a time and still can be found playing the piano in their Lake Quivira home.

The couple had been waiting more than a year for a donor lung when Jan was called in for a transplant at Washington University. The first attempted transplant had ended with Jan on the operating table when the surgeon decided the available lung was not healthy enough to use.  The operation was put to a halt, and they went home to continue waiting.

While Norm and Jan were busy buying champagne for their 54th wedding anniversary, they received a call.

 A lung was available for Jan and they would need to be at Washington University (https://washu.edu/) within 4 hours.  They cancelled their dinner reservations with family and began the drive. Jan finally received her transplant.

The transplant gave the couple more time together, and brought them back to the community where so much of their story had begun.

Their family has continued to grow and build accomplished lives of its own. Melissa is a physician.   Dain became a college professor and published musician. Matt studied restaurant management and culinary arts. They are raising their own children.

A girl from a Kansas farm and a boy from an Ozarks log cabin without running water met at a college dance.

They built a marriage that has lasted 64 years.

They raised a family.

They learned from mentors and became mentors themselves.

They helped generations of young doctors.

They built careers devoted to education, medicine and service.

And after leaving the neighborhood where their children grew up, they eventually came home.

Today, their life together can be seen in the details: a painting of Jan’s childhood home, a pair of Norm’s tiny childhood shoes, an old baseball glove, a collection of awards and a family gathered together.

For Norm and Jan, returning home to Lake Quivira was not simply a matter of moving back to a familiar place.

It was a return to the beginning of their story.