On May 14, 2026, Nora (Lane) Estill left this world at the age of 87. She was like a meteor streaking across our skies from the day she was born until the day she departed. In fact, many folks in Walker, Winston and Jefferson counties referred to her as “a ball of fire.”
Nora was born on August 7, 1938 in Double Springs, AL. Her parents were subsistence farmers with seven children. When her parents divorced, the mother and her children moved to Jasper and Nora attended Walker High School.
She was a loving wife and mother who raised her four children to be highly individualistic, like she and her husband Frank Sherer. No two of their children are close to being alike. She was a stay-at-home mom until her children finished school before she was employed by the Salvation Army.
Nora’s lifelong passion was community service. Even when she was a young mother of four, she managed to squeeze in time to be an active member of civic clubs and charities. In no time, she would be elected to leadership roles and the organizations would flourish. The key to her success was simple: Mrs. Nora had good ideas and got things done. She was extremely persuasive, using her syrupy sweet Southern drawl to inspire others to follow her latest cause.
All of the organizations that benefitted from her charitable leadership are too numerous to mention, but here is a short list: the Jasper Herb Society where she was a founding member, the Houston Historical Society where she helped raise funds to restore the landmark Houston Jail, and the North Alabama Hallelujah Trails bus tours of historic churches where she dressed in historic period costumes and performed as a guide.
Perhaps her most impactful role was as the Regional Executive Director of the Salvation Army in Jasper for 22 years. Being a part of the social services system, Nora witnessed the inequities in our society first-hand. As a result of this awakening, she became politically active. She may have been short in stature but she grew enormous with her bravery. She feared no one. She didn’t care much for the powerful and she loathed bullies. If she didn’t like a politician or public figure, she untiringly worked to gather votes against them. Nora was a social justice warrior during a time when it was very unpopular for a white southern lady in a small town to champion the underprivileged.
Nora Estill was preceded in death by her husband Howard Estill, her father Carl Lane, her mother Jesse Hodges Lane, her sister Ruby Farley, and her brothers Robert Lane, Charles Lane, Lamar Lane, Franky Lane and her son-in-law Gary Mays.
She is survived by her sister Mary Cain, brother Terry Lane, sister Carlette Lane Eddy and brother Chuckle Lane; her children Robert F. Sherer, Denise Sherer Mays, John W. Sherer and Jeffrey D. Sherer. She is also survived by her 5 grandchildren, 6 great grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren.
The visitation and funeral will be held on Monday, May 18 at Northside Baptist Church in Jasper, AL. The visitation takes place from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, proceeded by the funeral at 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. Nora will be interred at Mount Hope Cemetery in Arley, AL., but there will not be a graveside service. Collins-Burke Funeral Home will officiate.
