Obituary of Norman Henry White

Norman Henry White was born June 21st, 1930 in Moose Jaw, SK. He was raised by his loving parents, Frank & Marjorie (Allchin) White, on the family’s farm east of Armley, SK. Norman was the middle child, having an older sister Sherlotte, an older brother Walter, and two younger sisters Lona and Doreen. He had many fond memories of his growing-up years with his siblings and his White, Allchin & Caskey cousins that lived nearby. Some of those memories included wiener roasts and skating on the slough, playing pom-pom-pull-away, crack the whip, & hockey as well as sliding on a piece of cardboard down the 16-foot slide on the school grounds. In summer, they filled their days playing prisoner’s base, stealing sticks and soccer. Norman attended Waterfield School for his education. He walked two & a half miles to school, mostly through bush trails across country, along with his siblings and cousins. The highlights of the school year for him were the Christmas concerts, Field Days and the annual School Picnic at the end of the year. Norman wasn’t very old when he started his first business venture in the early 1940s. He snared bush rabbits, skinned and stretched their furs on a board and sold them for 2 cents each! One winter he hit the jackpot and caught 35! He said it was a lot of work for 70 cents but then he could buy a lot of candy for 5 cents! He also sold crow & magpie legs & eggs, as well as gopher tails to the R.M. of Connaught. During W.W.II, he gathered bones, hauled them by wagon into Armley, weighed them at the elevator & unloaded them to sell at the railroad. When Norman was 14 years old, he was thrown from a horse and broke his arm. He was in Tisdale hospital until arrangements were made for him and his father to travel by train to Winnipeg so he could have surgery. That was quite the experience! Norman was raised in a loving Christian home, attending Sunday School & various other Christian functions throughout his childhood. In 1944, he acknowledged his need of a Savior & accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord & Savior. He thoroughly enjoyed socializing with young people’s groups and at Two Rivers Bible Institute. After his school years, Norman started to work on the farm. He worked from daybreak until dark, threshing with a team & rack, and stooking for $5.00 a day. He also maintained 6 miles of road with a drag for the R.M. of Connaught. In 1953 he bought a quarter of land from his cousin and on Nov. 12th of that year he married the love of his life, Ruby Brown from Pontrilas. Together they worked side by side, establishing their mixed farming operation. Over the years they planted & harvested crops, raised cattle, pigs, chickens & turkeys as well as growing a large vegetable garden. In 1954, Norman & Ruby welcomed a daughter, Barbara into the family. The crops were poor in 1955 so they went to work in Fort Saskatchewan & Bruderheim, AB for the winter. Norman did a variety of jobs that winter, including installing TV antennas on roof tops, even though he was afraid of heights! They returned home in the spring to put the crop in & Norman worked for Roy Rourke, the John Deere dealer in Nipawin. In 1957, their son Lorrie was born, making the family complete! Norman took great pride & joy in farming with his son in the 1980s onward. In 1987 Norman found & met his biological mother, Helen (McIntosh) Ross in Victoria, B.C. He enjoyed many visits back & forth with her until her passing in 2000. To Norman’s delight, this led to meeting his half-sister Virginia, nieces Tina & Carrie and nephews John, Bob & Sandy. Norman enjoyed many sports but especially hockey, not just watching it but playing it also! In the 1970s & 1980s, he enjoyed playing on commercial teams: Nipawin/Armley Blues, Nipawin Centennials & Armley Ramblers with his son Lorrie & son-in-law Neil. Norman had many interests, hobbies & passions in life. He loved farming. He loved to go for country drives & enjoyed looking at the crops. He loved to visit. He loved to reminisce. He loved music, especially gospel music & Don Messer tunes. He loved to sing & in his retirement years he sang at jamborees, festivals & in church. He loved parties, get-togethers, reunions, picnics, fairs & auction sales…anywhere that he could visit people! He loved to host people & always invited them in for coffee. He loved & accepted everyone just as they were. Norman was also a collector. He loved collecting antiques & spent many enjoyable hours arranging them for display in his Antique Barn & Loft. He loved to tour people through his collection & take them down memory lane. He also collected Bee Hive & Quaker Oats NHL hockey pictures & John Deere toy tractors. Norman loved his family & took great delight in them, especially the grandchildren & more recently the great-grandchildren. He sang “Row, Row, Row the Boat” many times with them! Norman entered into his eternal rest in the presence of Jesus on February 8, 2020. Norman was predeceased by his parents Frank & Marjorie White, mother-in-law Johanne Brown, sister Sherlotte & (Bill) Tuck, brother Walter, sister Lona & (Irvine) Brown, sister Doreen & (Alf) Fuchs. He leaves to mourn his passing: his loving wife Ruby of 66 years, daughter Barbara & (Neil) Hildebrandt and son Lorrie & (Irene) White. *Grandchildren & [Great-Grandchildren]: Kimberly & (Les) Adrian [Lavaeh, Navaeh & Liam] Mitchell & (Genevieve) Hildebrandt [Jairus, Zariah, Mabon, Damari & Theo] Kent & (Tanya) White [River & Brynlee] Mandy & (Daniel) Thiessen. He also leaves many extended family to remember him: cousins, nieces & nephews including double-nieces: Betty & (Ron) Gustafson, and Debby & (John) Kenna