Norman Kenneth Kehler, youngest son of the late David Stoesz Kehler and the late Katharina Wiebe Kehler and beloved husband of 19 years of Elizabeth Dawes, was set free on October 26, 2007, after years of living with cancer. Born in Selkirk, Manitoba, on May 15, 1959, Norman lived in Grand Rapids and Steinbach before moving to Winnipeg where he learned to play hockey and football on the street with his brothers.
Norman excelled in basketball at Fort Richmond Collegiate where he was coached by Terry Ball. He played for the U of M in 1977-78, but his career ended the following summer when he lost sight in his left eye in a construction accident. After cycling through Europe, he worked in a paper mill in Grande Prairie before returning to study at the U of M. Norman obtained a BA in Anthropology and met his future wife in 1985 during a Spanish course in Salamanca, Spain. He followed her to Montreal where he obtained his Computer Science degree from Concordia University. They were married in Montreal on February 29, 1988. After eight years as a Database Administrator with Revenue Canada in Ottawa, Norman was fortunate enough to be hired by Great-West Life which allowed him to return to his beloved Winnipeg in 1999. Having built a house on Lake Winnipeg, he dreamt of a retirement of golf, gardening and cooking but it was not to be. He will be sorely missed by his four older brothers and their families, Raymond (Martha) of Abbotsford, Rodney (Carol) of Langley, Donald (Karen) of Fort Saskatchewan and Barry (Helen) of Winnipeg; his eight nieces and nephews Ryan, Kevin, Paul (Pamela), Jennifer (Paul Sellars), Jill, Ariann, Jeffrey and Lisa Kehler; his four great-nieces and nephews Isaak, Hannah, Sarah and Tydin Kehler, as well as many aunts, uncles and cousins. He will be fondly remembered by his in-laws Colin and Margaret Dawes; his brothers-in-law Roger (Sharon McGarvey), Martin, and Richard Dawes (Cindy Hildebrand); his sister-in-law Susan Dawes (Kevin Bell); his nieces, Sydney, Mallory and Nicole Dawes, and his nephew Duncan Bell. Norman was predeceased by his father in 1975, his nephew Nathan in 1988 and his mother on October 13, 2007. Special thanks to nurse Julie Kumps of Gimli and to the many other health care professionals involved in his care at St. Boniface, HSC, Concordia, Selkirk and Gimli hospitals, especially Dr. R. Wong (May you climb many mountains!) and Dr. J. Krahn. Cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday October 31 at 2:00 pm. at Thomson In the Park Funeral Home, 1291 McGillivray Blvd.