JOHNSON

Our loving husband, father, grandfather, and brother, Norman “Norm” B. Johnson of Rimbey, Alberta, passed away peacefully at the Peter Lougheed Centre, Calgary on Saturday, October 22, 2022 at the age of 66 years.

Norman moved from Camrose to Rimbey with his parents and sister Lorna in 1961. Later that same year, his brother Leslie joined the family. In April of 1964, Sheila also became a member of the Johnson clan. The family lived in town until they bought a quarter of land where they built their house and family still resides today. Norman obtained his schooling, Grades 1 to 12, in Rimbey. In 1967 Norman’s dad bought property and a building in the town of Rimbey, which was known as the Rimbey and District Tire Shop. Norman would help his dad after school and on weekends. When he turned 18 years old, he worked there full time so that his dad would have more time to spend on their farm. Norman purchased the tire shop from his mom and dad in 1987. Norman worked hard all his life and was looking forward to the relaxing time of retirement. His favourite saying was, “I’ll do it tomorrow, and if tomorrow doesn’t come – then it don’t matter no more.”

Norman met Lucille Jones on December 26, 1975. At the time, Lucille resided in Sorrento, B.C. and she didn’t know how their relationship was going to work. They started off writing letters to each other, and as the years went by they started phoning each other. Norman would come for a visit every long weekend, and Lucille fell hard for him! Her dad called him “the bull-headed Swede!” Following her high school graduation in 1978, Lucille moved to Rimbey. They were inseparable after that – where Norman went, Lucille went! They were united in marriage on May 10, 1980.

Their first son Steven was born on February 14, 1982. That was the only year Lucille received roses for Valentine’s Day!! On December 21, 1983 their second son Terry was born. To their surprise it was only him, as they were expecting twins! On October 18, 1986 they were again blessed with their third son Derek, who was so eager to see the world that he arrived in 10 minutes! Raising three boys didn’t come without its challenges, but they wouldn’t have changed it for the world! As the boys grew older, Norman would talk about the things that these guys would do, or get into, and he would always have a smile on his face.

When Norman and Lucille purchased the tire shop, Norman would work in the shop and Lucille would be tucked away in her office looking after the books. They worked side-by-side for thirty years until they retired in 2017.

The first couple of years of retirement, Norman got caught up on his “honey-do list.” Then all he had to do was sit on the deck and watch the lawn grow! He took great pride in how the yard looked! He also spent a lot of time in his shop, his “man cave.” Several times Lucille would go down there and Norman would be sound asleep in his chair! Four hours later he would appear, and would comment that it was just a little “power nap!” Norman joked with Lucille, commenting that one day he was going to pave the driveway so that when they grew old together, they could have wheelchair races!!

Norman had been struggling with his health over the past year and a half. On October 22, 2022, Lucille had to say goodbye to her husband of 42 years, her best friend, the father of their three sons, the brother to Leslie and Sheila, the uncle of many nieces and nephews, and the grandfather to two precious grandsons Emerson, who is five; and Daxton, who is three. They were the apple of Norman’s eye!! He was surrounded by his whole family. You will be forever missed by all who knew you. Thank you for all the memories. Thank you for all the years we had together.

You may not be walking among us, but you’ll be forever in our hearts.

Rest in Peace

Norm will be lovingly remembered and greatly missed by his wife and best friend, Lucille; and his three sons Steven Johnson of Rimbey; Terry (Joyce) Johnson of Sylvan Lake; and Derek (Jennifer) Johnson of Red Deer; as well as two treasured grandchildren Emerson and Daxton. He will also be lovingly remembered by his brother Leslie (Donna-Lee) Johnson of Red Deer; and his sister Sheila Frayn (John Weisgerber) of Rimbey; in addition to many nieces, nephews, other relatives, and several close friends. Norm was predeceased by his parents Bernard and Mary; and his sister Lorna.

An Informal Gathering of Family and Friends to celebrate Norm’s life was held at the Peter Lougheed Community Centre, Rimbey on Sunday, November 20, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. with Life Celebrant Sonja McAlpin hosting. All were cordially invited to attend in Norm’s Honour, joining the family for a time of fellowship, a bit of chit-chat, and refreshments.

If friends desire, memorial tributes in Norm’s memory may be made directly to the Central Alberta Cancer Centre, 3942 – 50A Avenue, PO Bag 5030, Red Deer, Alberta T4N 4E7 (www.albertacancer.ca). Thoughts and messages to the family may be shared through the condolence area located at the bottom of this page.

Cremation Arrangements for the Late Norman “Norm” B. Johnson entrusted to the care of