Norberg Memorial Home Inc. & Monuments Have Loving Roots in the Community

Janice Smallwood returned to Princeton in 2016 and joined Norberg Memorial Home, Inc. & Monuments in 2018. The full-circle path that led her there stretches across the country; through mutual friends; bound by young love; as well as grief training she received working with the South Carolina State Fire Fighters Association; and dates back to 1975 when she first moved to Princeton, IL from Chicago.

Janice first met her husband, J.D. Smallwood, at the old Skate-A-Rama in Princeton, before moving away with her family to South Carolina for her father’s retirement in 1981. While there, she went on to own a bookkeeping company and managed the financials for several not for profit organizations to include the South Carolina State Firefighters Association as well as the USTA of South Carolina. After the passing of Janice’s husband, Steve, she reconnected with J.D. through a mutual friend.

J.D., meanwhile, began working at Norberg in 1996 upon graduation from Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Wheeling, Illinois. He eventually purchased Norberg Memorial Home, Inc. & Monuments in 2008 from his father, Bodie, who passed away that same year. Bodie first started working for Arthur Norberg in 1956, after serving in the Korean War. He was also a graduate of Worsham College of Mortuary Science. He bought into the business in 1966 as a partner to Arthur Norberg, eventually buying all stocks and becoming sole owner. The memorial home had been in the Smallwood family since 1966 and in the community since 1903.

With their five-year anniversary as a married couple approaching, the Smallwood’s have taken their love for each other, as well as their love for the community and applied it into their daily work at the funeral home. They are honored to serve and continue Norberg’s tradition of affordable, reliable services in and around Bureau County and beyond.

“Not only was J.D. my first love, but he will also be my last,” Janice said. “It’s one of the hardest jobs we’ve ever loved. It’s a true honor that people select us to care for their loved one during their time of need.”

For well over 100 years, Norberg Memorial Home, Inc. & Monuments has provided an array of funeral services, cremations, pre-planning arrangements, burials, monuments, urns, jewelry and assistance.

Due to the current changes and COVID-19 pandemic, Norberg has extended their services to include free live-streaming of funeral services at Norberg’s and drive-thru visitations if and when needed.

For more information on services, prearrangements or monuments, please visit www.norbergfh.com or call 815-875-2425.

Norberg Memorial Home, Inc. & Monuments

701 E. Thompson St

Princeton, IL 61356