Obituary of Norman Richard Strain

SURVIVORS His loving wife Elna of Mannville 3 Children Robert (Jessica) Strain of Devon, AB and their children Ashley,Sheldon and Brendon. Michelle (Keith) Swain of Spruce Grove, and their children Ethan and Nolan Richard (Melanie) Strain of Edmonton, and their son Aiden and baby Cora is on the way His mother Laura Strain of Beaverton, Ontario 4 Brothers Lyle (Linda) Strain, Harry Strain (Carol Mansholt) George (Violet) Strain and James (Noelle) Strain 5 Sisters Judith (Rudolph) Rucker, Margaret (Gottfried) Gutsche, Laura (George) Wotzik, Doris Cockburn and Marjorie Thomas (Gary Jacob) as well as numerous nieces and nephews Norm was predeceased by his father George Strain. Norman Richard Strain was born on September 13, 1955 in Lindsay, Ontario to George and Laura Strain. He was the second youngest of ten children. He attended H.W. Knight School in Cannington, Ontario until the age of 16 at which time he decided to help his dad with the family peat moss farm business. Norm also learned how to play the piano and the violin in his early years. In 1972 he decided to leave the farm and start working construction; he worked with various construction companies which eventually lead him to Alberta. His eldest son Robert was born on November 19, 1975. His daughter Michelle was born July 17, 1978 and his youngest son Richard was born on July 11, 1980, all in St. Albert, Alberta. Norm met Elna Neigum in the summer of 1984 in Unity, Saskatchewan while working for Bell-Corrd Contracting in Consort, Alberta. A year passed before they would meet up again in 1985 during Christmas time and shortly after they moved in together. During his time in Unity he worked as a mechanic at the Dodge dealership and then as a grader operator for the RM of Grass Lake. Also while in Unity he once traded a car he had for a horse named Myles Of Pleasure, who he enjoyed riding. In 1987 he proposed to Elna and on July 29, 1988 they were married in Unity. Later that year they moved to Wonowon, B.C. where Norm worked for Turner Gas & Oil in the oil patch operating heavy equipment. They moved to White Lake, B.C. for a year before returning to Wonowon for another year. In 1991 they then moved to Malakwa, B.C. where Norm drove a logging truck, then moved to Revelstoke, B.C. in 1992. He continued to do logging out of Revelstoke, B.C. and had his own logging truck from 1995 to 1997, running their own company called N&E Trucking. Then in 1997 they moved to Fort McLeod, AB where he started hauling for Walker�s Transport. In 1999 they bought their first home in Fort McLeod. In July of 2000 they moved to an acreage just south of Mannville where Norm returned to working in the oil patch for various companies. For the last year of his life he had been working for Kowal Construction as a working foreman. Norm had also started his own consulting firm. Norm always went where the work was. It was nothing for him to pick up and move to another town or province. There wasn�t anything Norm couldn�t fix, drive, rebuild, or operate. If he ever had any parts left over from working on something you would always hear him say �I didn�t need those parts anyway�. He enjoyed fishing, camping, hunting, quadding and snowmobiling, etc. He loved to be outside and always had to be on the go. He loved spending time with his kids and grandkids. He loved all kinds of animals, but his best friend was his dog, Jenny, who always received the most special attention. And if anyone ever had the pleasure of spending any time with Norm they always learnt a life lesson or something new, whether it be how to fire a shotgun at some tin cans or how to drive a riding lawn mower. At the very least you learned a new perspective on l