Thelma Van Norte

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Thelma Van Norte
A young white woman with her hair cut in a bob with bangs, wearing a round-collared dress or blouse
Thelma Augostat (later Van Norte), from the 1927 yearbook of Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis
Born
Thelma Louise Augostat

January 12, 1912
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
DiedAugust 9, 1985 (aged 73)
Sandersville, Georgia, U.S.
Other namesThelma Schindledecker
Occupation(s)Medical librarian, medical transcriptionist

Thelma Louise Van Norte (née Augostat; January 12, 1912 – August 9, 1985) was an American medical records librarian. She received the National Public Personnel Award in 1966, from the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, for her work in training blind medical transcriptionists.[1]

Early life and education[edit]

Thelma Louise Augostat was born in Indianapolis, the daughter of Otto Augostat[2] and Maud Wilson Augostat. Her father was a plumber. She graduated from Arsenal Technical High School in 1927, at age 15.[3][4] She earned a bachelor's degree from Indiana University and a master's degree from Georgia Women's College. She trained as a medical records librarian at Emory University Hospital, and held an LL.B. degree from the Woodrow Wilson College of Law.[5][6]

Career[edit]

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]

A white man and woman, both smiling, as he presents a plaque to her; the man is wearing a suit and holding the plaque with a hook-like prosthetic hand; the woman has coiffed light hair and is wearing drop earrings and a boatneck sweater
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[edit]

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[edit]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Obituary for Otto Augostat". The Indianapolis Star. 1977-01-05. p. 38. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Arsenal Technical HIgh School, The Arsenal Cannon (1927 yearbook): 18. via Ancestry
  4. ^ a b c McKay, Blythe (1959-10-04). "Librarian at Hospital Continually at College". The Macon Telegraph. p. 23. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "Public Personnel Award" Performance: The Story of the Handicapped 17(5)(December 1966): 5.
  6. ^ a b "Mrs. Thelma Van Norte, retired records librarian". The Atlanta Constitution. 1985-08-13. p. 74. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Frye, G. Shubert (April 16, 1928). "Fishing the Air". Indianapolis Times. p. 8. Retrieved May 4, 2023 – via The Hoosier Chronicles.
  8. ^ "Macon Hospital Gets New Medical Records Librarian". The Macon News. 1959-07-15. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Lanier, Linda (1973-05-02). "Central State Patients, the Forgotten Ones". The Macon Telegraph. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Mrs. Norte is Given State Award". The Macon Telegraph. 1966-10-08. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Macon Proud of State Winner". The Macon Telegraph. 1966-10-11. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Maconite Cited for Work with Handicapped". The Macon News. 1966-10-19. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Marriage Licenses". The Indianapolis Times. 1932-10-18. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Thelma Van Norte, 73, retired medical librarian". The Macon Telegraph. 1985-08-12. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-05-04 – via Newspapers.com.
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