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Fulfilling her husband's dying wish, 20 years later

When Norma Segal's husband passed away 20 years ago this week from a brain tumor, he had one dying wish: that she take the 26 limericks he had written over his lifetime and do something with them.

Norma Segal, of Cherry Hill, reads "From Amoebas to Zebras," a compilation of limericks by her husband, at the Ronald McDonald House in Camden.
Norma Segal, of Cherry Hill, reads "From Amoebas to Zebras," a compilation of limericks by her husband, at the Ronald McDonald House in Camden.Read moreDAVID SWANSON / Staff Photographer

When Norma Segal's husband passed away 20 years ago this week from a brain tumor, he had one dying wish: that she take the 26 limericks he had written over his lifetime and do something with them.

"He pulled out a stack of papers from his desk drawer," recalled Norma. "He said, 'This could be the text for a children's book, but I'm not going to live long enough to do this.' "

Though it would take 16 years, the Cherry Hill resident and retired educator would fulfill Sidney Segal's wish to create something for underprivileged children, as well as for those hospitalized with cancer and serious ailments. From Amoebas to Zebras: The Animal Zoo of Limericks, with an accompanying audio CD, was published in 2012 by Neibauer Press.

Since then, Norma has spread Sid's passion for limericks - light or humorous poems of five lines with an "aabba" rhyming pattern - by donating From Amoebas to Zebras to schools, libraries, Toys for Tots, and hospitals, including Virtua, Cooper University Hospital, and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. It has even reached children in Haiti through a friend who rebuilt an orphanage destroyed by earthquake. She has read and given the book to kids at the Please Touch Museum and Garden State Discovery Museum, and most recently at the Ronald McDonald House in Camden.

On a Friday afternoon earlier this month, Norma read the book and sang to a small group, including Abigail Bances, 3, a patient at Shriners Hospital for Children. She and her mother, Deysi Bances, who traveled here from Peru, have been at the house for eight months.

Afterward, Abigail, who doesn't speak English, sat at the piano, tried to play the Alphabet Song, and sang the melody. She giggled throughout, said Tina Fiorentino, development director at the Ronald McDonald House Southern New Jersey in Camden.

"The children here are on a very different journey," said Fiorentino. "They don't laugh very often. To have someone read to them takes their mind off their medical journey and relieves their stress. Their laughter is infectious."

It is a legacy befitting a man who was a renowned biology teacher at Northeast High School for 40 years and the founder of Seneca Day Camp in Blue Bell.

When the couple met in 1981, it was the "beginning of a wonderful romance," said Norma, reflecting on their first date. Sid was a widower with three children. Norma was raising two children in her Philadelphia home. The two married in 1986.

At Northeast High School, he included an extra credit question on his weekly biology tests in the form of a limerick - an unusual twist, yet students grew accustomed to his unique and endearing style. Norma isn't sure how long Sid kept the limericks tucked away, nor does she know the origin of his passion for the craft. But the hobby, she believes, was a reflection of his personality. "He was an enigmatic, zany man who loved children and always wanted to do something to engage them."

It was, in fact, the reason that, after his graduation from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, he went back to school and earned a bachelor's and master's degree in education.

When Sid first handed Norma the clever limericks he had written and typed on a manual typewriter, she saw that the metered verses revealed obscure and quirky facts about animals, each beginning with a different letter of the alphabet. A book wouldn't be just for preschoolers to learn their ABCs, thought Norma, a perpetual teacher. It seemed that each limerick was also educational, with sophisticated language, appropriate for tweens as well.

One of Norma Segal's favorites:

A ZEBRA's two colors leave doubt

As to what its design is about.

Is it black stripes on white?

Is the other way right?

I never could figure it out.

At the time, Norma, now 80 and a grandmother of four, was facing her own health challenges.

"I was diagnosed with my second bout of cancer (non-Hodgkin's lymphoma) six weeks before Sid died," she said. In 2001, she underwent a successful stem-cell transplant. She has survived cancer three times. A decade later, "I said to myself, 'I'm 75; if I don't do this now, when will I ever do it?' "

About the same time, Norma read an article in the Inquirer about a children's-book published by the family-owned and operated Neibauer Press of Warminster. She arranged to meet with vice president Ruth Neibauer-Baker for coffee at a Starbucks and wanted to know: Was the book viable?

In fact, Neibauer-Baker told her, "Go for it," and connected her with illustrator Stephen Herko in Texas. "His illustrations are amazing," said Norma. "They brought the limericks to life." In 2013, the book was the recipient of a Graphic Arts Association Franklin Award for Excellence.

Norma, who was the educational director at Temple Beth Sholom in Haddon Heights and then Cherry Hill from 1982 to 2000, integrated her expertise by adding a glossary and a page for students to create their own limerick. "It's a great language arts lesson," said Norma.

The idea for the accompanying CD was to help ease the pain, specifically, of chemotherapy. "I was told by social workers and nurses that children listening to the CD while having infusions are so relaxed," said Norma, "that they smile and sometimes fall asleep."

Mindful of the 20th anniversary Saturday of Sid's death, Norma intends to do more to revitalize his legacy. She and her husband - Dave Maitin, whom she met at a bereavement group in 1997 - spend winters in Delray Beach and plan to volunteer in an afterschool church program there to help children with homework and reading. "The first thing I'll do is introduce the book," she said.

"As a teacher, I always believed that I was giving something back. But when I see the expression on the faces of the children, this project feels like the ultimate gift. It has been one of the most joyous experiences of my life."

For copies of "From Amoebas to Zebras," contact Ruth Neibauer-Baker at ruth@neibauer.com or 215-322-6216.