Normand Joseph Labossiere

October 6th, 1937 – January 12th, 2022

Norm passed away peacefully at St. Boniface Hospital after a brief illness at the age of 84.

He is survived by his wife Doreen, brothers Gordon (Claire), Robert (Judy) and many nieces, nephews and friends.
He was predeceased by his parents Philias and Violet, sister Mildred (Larry), brothers Wilfred (Toni), Edmond (Patricia), Richard (Lydia) and Gerald.

We wish to thank the staff at St. Boniface Hospital especially 6AWest for the care provided to Norm while they worked under very challenging conditions.
A special thank you to Norm and Doreen’s niece Leslie for the constant companionship she provided to Doreen throughout this ordeal.

In Norm’s memory, if you choose to do so, please make a donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Lung Association or charity of your choice. Please take a few minutes to honour his memory by visiting his tribute page at Voyage Funeral Homes www.voyagefuneralhomes.com.

Norm has been cremated and there will be a private family gathering at a later time.

Norm was born in St. Boniface, Manitoba on October 6th, 1937, the sixth born to Philias and Vi Labossiere. He attended Provencher School and was in the army cadets. He and a friend wanted to join the Air force later on, so they quit the army cadets and joined the air cadets. Norm was in the Air force Reserves for two years.

Norm remembered at the age of 5 or 6 years old of going to the Paris Theatre on Provencher Blvd with his brothers. Admission was 6 cents. His dad gave him 10 cents for the movie and then 4 cents was left for door prizes. When he was older he would go to movies alone and enjoyed musicals.

Norm loved to sing and told us that between the ages of seven and eleven, he was asked to sing for his parent’s friends. They would pass the hat around for a collection and Norm earned some cash. Later he sang in two different groups and one of the members was Len Cariou who is now a well know actor. When Norm was a teenager, he had a reel to reel tape recorder and would sing and record his voice for practice. It was a joy to hear. He was a great singer.

Norm’s first job was in 1953 as a printer with Wiggins Systems where he met his wife Doreen and married in 1960. He moved on to Investors Syndicate, now known as IG Wealth Management, in 1957 to operate a printing press. He was promoted to supervisor a year later and responsible for the supply/printing/mail departments and did some purchasing. In 1963, he was promoted to Purchasing Agent and created the Purchasing Department for the head office and branch offices.

In 1975, Norm left Investors to go into sales with Duha Printing as Sales Manager. In 1989, Norm and Doreen purchased a Medallion Milk franchise for Winnipeg and started another business, Goldenline Distributors which was a sales and promotions company.

Norm had many interests such as fishing, record and book collecting, flea markets, garage and estate sales, auctions and liked to haggle for a deal. He volunteered helping many individuals over the years and with Meals on Wheels. He and Doreen enjoyed traveling and took trips to visit family in California, traveled across Canada and other places in the U.S.A and Europe.

A key project in which Norm was proud of was the development and operation of the Granite Hills Golf Course near Lac Du Bonnet, Manitoba. He and several partners developed one of the finest golf courses in Manitoba, if not Canada.

Norm valued friends but most of all family. He and Doreen regularly entertained in their home and annually hosted Christmas dinner for Doreen’s family and New Year’s Day for his family. The crazy newspaper wrapped gift event on New Year’s Day was something to look forward to.

Norm was kind, generous, with a great sense of humour, had a huge heart for people and will be sadly missed.