1936 – 2024
Norman Clifford Hengen passed away peacefully at 88 years old on Sun. November 10, 2024 at Bethany, Didsbury.
He will be lovingly remembered by his wife Betty (Hantz) of 68 years, children Linda Lunder (Red Deer), Marje Ketchum (Didsbury) and Mike Hengen (Olds), brothers Leonard (Sherri), Robert (Zayda), Erle (Penny), sisters Carole (Dick) Jagt, Joyce (Danny) Hanson, Roberta (Garry) Arneson, sister-in-law Vi (Ed) Hengen, grandchildren Robert Morgan, John (Tara) Morgan and Mandie Lunder, great grandchildren Hope Jones, Keenan Elis, Amber and Michael Morgan and great great grandchild Jackson Maeers. He is also survived by 30 nieces and nephews and even more grand nieces and nephews, as well as many dear friends. Norm was predeceased by his parents Ole and Mary (Pedersen) Hengen, brothers Marvin (and wife Iris), Ed and Jim, sister Rosemary Sarvas, brother-in-law Dick Jagt, sister-in-law Lorna (Leonard), great grandson Alex Morgan as well as numerous in-laws from Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Norm was born in the Milk River area of Alberta in 1936 to farming parents, 3rd son of 11 children. The Hengen family moved to a farm near Kelwood, MN in 1946 when Norm was 10. As a teen Norm took a few farmhand jobs, but around 18 decided to take a 6-month autobody repair course at Manitoba Inst. of Technology. This led to an interesting job for 18 months building micro midget racing cars using the recently discovered fiberglass. Once he helped build 13 cars, he joined the RCAF in Winnipeg for electronics training.
Norm met Betty during his first year with the RCAF, and they married Sept. 1, 1956. Linda was born the following June during his 5 years with the Air Force at Sennetere, QU. After a short stint with RCA the family moved to Alberta where Norm found work at Bird Electronics in Olds. Marjorie was born a short time later in '62, and in '63 Norm's TV Sales and Repair was opened in Carstairs in a small building just west of the Bank of Montreal. After a few yrs he was able to build a more suitable place on the west side of the little shop (and remained there until his retirement at 65, in 2000).
Once the family was able to find a home in Carstairs ('64), Norm joined the volunteer Fire Dept and Town Council soon afterwards, but also began a daily habit he loved dearly - bushing for coffee. Michael completed the family when he was born in '67. Missing his farming roots, Norm bought a 1/4 section west of town in '72 and the family moved there in '74. Initially a beef and crop farm, Norm soon decided to specialize with horned Herefords. He continued working at the TV shop and the farm for 26 more yrs.
He joined Citizens on Patrol /Crime Watch around the 1990s, and later on joined the local Co-op board and Olds Foodbank board. A few weeks after retiring and selling the TV store (to Lance and Shirley Colby) Norm had a heart attack, and slowly decided to cut back even more. He sold his cattle in '02 (BSE was in 03), and the farm followed in '04. Norm and Betty moved to a nice home in Carriage Lane, Carstairs. Norm had difficulty adjusting to a leisurely lifestyle and decided to build an enclosure around their back deck. The couple then began taking charter bus trips to various places in N. America.
Norm and Betty decided to move to a condo in Didsbury in 2018. In Apr 2021 Norm became ill and was hospitalized, and after a few months was moved to Bethany Didsbury. We'd like to say a special thank you to all the wonderful people at Bethany who helped us care for Norm in his final years. We'll miss you all. A celebration of Life will be held at a later time and will be announced in this paper.
