Norman Joseph Doyle was born Aug. 1,1951 and passed away at the Mazankowski Heart Institute in Edmonton, Alta. April 15, 2022.
Norman was very quiet but often surprised us with things that he would say or do.
The first surprise for Mom and Dad was his early arrival. Complications at birth lead to his physical disability, but, that physical disability required him to develop the coping skills necessary to deal with the many challenges life sent his way.
Norman attended Veteran school from Grades 1 – 9, and attended Coronation, Olds, and O’Leary High Schools.
He then attended Olds College studying Agriculture & Horticulture.
After college he returned to Veteran and opened Veteran Bottle Depot, being its owner/operator.
He spent countless hours counting, sorting and loading bottles. Many evenings the doorbell would ring at supper time and someone would just have to get rid of their bottles at that exact moment. Norman always got up from the table and looked after his customers.
In 2002 Mom and Dad decided to finally retire and Norman moved with them to Lloydminster, Alta. After Dad passed away in 2004, Mom decided it would be best if she moved into the Dr. Hemstock Residence.
We asked Norman if he felt he wanted to live there as well. “I guess that would be all right”, was the reply as we so often heard from him. He never made much of a fuss about anything, he just lived life one day at a time.
Norman enjoyed his time at the Dr. Hemstock Residence and we were very grateful that he was living there to keep an eye on Mom and made it possible for her to remain at the Dr. Hemstock as long as she did.
After Mom was moved to the Dr. Cooke Long Term Care facility Norman would walk over daily to visit. Many of the staff and residents at the Dr. Hemstock Residence have told us these last few days, what a “gentle soul” Norman was and how well he looked after our Mom.
Norman was the artistic one in the family and enjoyed painting. He even won a pumpkin carving contest by painting a picture of a blue bikini on his pumpkin instead of carving it. He enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles and socializing with family and friends.
Norman spent many evenings discing at the Veteran and Hemaruka halls and the staff at the Dr. Hemstock even tell us he was a sought- after team mate as he was very “quietly competitive” during activities there, hence his nickname of “Storm”.
He spent time with his aunt, uncle and cousins, the Wuest’s, in Calgary during his years growing up, and with Uncle Jack Doyle in Olds when he was older. Norman was especially lucky to have been able to accompany Alan and Cindy on a few trips to British Columbia to visit our cousins and Auntie Irene (who passed away at 105 years young).
In 2011, the year Norman turned 60 years old, they took him to BC which was a year of firsts for Norman. He experienced his first trip outside of Alberta, first air plane ride, first cancelled flight, first Sky Train ride, first Sea Bus ride, first Ferry trip to Vancouver Island and back, and dipped his fingers in the ocean for the very first time.
On other trips, they enjoyed other attractions and visited lots. Trips back to Veteran for homecomings and even funerals over the years were always enjoyed as it meant a chance to reconnect with old friends.
Norman enjoyed the nieces’ and nephew’s weddings, was especially fond of his great nieces and nephews and shared his birthday with his great nephew Hunter.
On March 31 Norman sustained a very significant heart attack. He was taken to hospital in Lloydminster and airlifted to Edmonton.
Norman will be lovingly remembered by his siblings: Pat and Barb Doyle, Alan and Cindy Doyle, Bill and Beryl Doyle and Kathy Carroll, numerous nieces and nephews and their families.
Norman was predeceased by his parents Martin and Beth Doyle.
A celebration of life was held at McCaw Funeral Chapel April 23,2022. A video of this is on www.mccawfuneralservice.com
Donations may be made to Mazankowki Heart Institute or of donors choice.
Card of Thanks
Our family would like to extend a very heartfelt thank you to Alan and Cindy for all the care they provided for Norman, especially during the last two weeks of his life.
Our family would like to thank the residents and staff at the Dr. Hemstock, staff at Lloydminster Hospital & Mazankowski Heart Institute, Joel and staff at McCaw’s and Rev. Gary Stobbs.
We feel our brother has been treated with the utmost dignity and respect.
