Date of Birth: April 29, 1944
Date of Death: November 9, 2020
During the time between these dates (April 29, 1944 and Nov. 9, 2020) Norm affected the lives of many people as a co-worker and teammate, friend and neighbor, and father and grandfather. Each person who knew him will easily be able to remember ways in which he was able to make their lives more enjoyable.
His life started in Lemberg as the youngest child of Anthony and Minnie Kammer. The family, including his siblings, Audrey and Len, later moved to Melville. He remained very close to both of them, particularly Audrey, who he continued to see every day right up until his end.
Early in life he became deeply involved in two things that would stay with him for longer than he would ever have expected. One was his lifelong passion for sports. He was a longtime member of the Melville Comets fastball team and active in the curling bonspiel scene for many years as his personal trophy case can attest. He rooted passionately for two favorite teams, one (the New York Yankees) that seemed to always win and the other (the Toronto Maple Leafs) who seemed destined never to win. This never dampened his hope as the start of a new NHL season was always the beginning of their year.
He also began working at the Prairie Co-op grocery store, a job that he held for over 45 years until his retirement in 2011. He maintained many close relationships from his time there and was always happy to stop at the store for groceries or just to catch up. Here he developed a deep sense of pride in a job well done. Anyone going past his house following a snowfall could verify this – he rarely waited until the snow stopped before he was out there sweeping and shoveling.
His life was forever changed by the birth of his children. His first, Douglas, passed away at birth. Ryan and Angela followed afterwards and quickly became his pride and joy. Many of their younger days were spent playing at local parks or finding other ways to make each moment as memorable as possible. He accepted the paths that their lives took without question and was always there to support them. This was most evident in many airplane trips over the years even though long distance travel was not high on his list of things to do in life.
When they got older, he continued to share his joy and enthusiasm with the visitors that they brought along. He extended his support and acceptance to his daughter-in-law Randi, then to the various four-legged friends that came through his door (who were always able to find a willing walk partner no matter how cold it was outside) and finally to his grandchildren, Ainsley and Bastian. Even well into his 70s he was willing to spend hours with them playing outside without ever wanting to be somewhere else.
Predeceasing Norm were his parents, Douglas, two granddaughters in infancy, sister-in-law Norma, and nephew Brian. He is survived by his sister Audrey; brother Len; children, Angela and Ryan (Randi); grandchildren, Ainsley and Bastian; niece Debbie; and other friends and family that are too many to list and were more important to him than they could ever know.
A memorial service will be planned for spring / summer of 2021. In lieu of flowers the family asks that a memorials be made to the Terry Puhl Foundation for the youth of Melville.
Arrangements were by Bailey’s Funeral and Cremation Care Melville.
