Woman who opted for RV trip over cancer treatment dies at 91

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Tuesday, October 4, 2016
In this June 13, 2016, file photo, Norma Bauerschmidt holds up one of her favorite smiley-face cookies inside the family's recreational vehicle at the Bear Run Campground.
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FRIDAY HARBOR, WASH -- A Michigan woman who decided to take a cross-country RV trip instead of undergoing cancer treatment has died at the age of 91.

More than 400,000 people have followed Norma Jean Bauerschmidt's journey with her son and daughter-in-law on her "Driving Miss Norma" Facebook page. Her final stop was San Juan Island, Washington, located in the northwest corner of the United States.

San Juan County Coroner Randall Gaylord says Bauerschmidt died Friday morning.

Bauerschmidt's daughter-in-law writes on the page that she decided to take the trip last year after being told that surgery, radiation and chemotherapy was the likely treatment for tumor.

She began hospice care after arriving in the San Juan Island town of Friday Harbor in August.

A memorial service is scheduled for Bauerschmidt in Friday Harbor on Friday.

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