Obituary of Norma Joan Holden

HOLDEN, Norma Joan

November 2, 1939 – Calgary, Alberta

June 30, 2022 – Calgary, Alberta

 

From the outset, I realize this online tribute version may read more like a biography than a traditional obituary, yet to understand the person Norma would become and to gain insight into her values and perspective, one must appreciate her formative years with her family; thus, I have chosen this style of narrative to best represent my memories of my mom.

 

Norma Holden, beloved wife of the Late Duane Holden, of Calgary, AB, passed away on Thursday, 30 June 2022 at the age of 82 years.

 

Norma was born in Calgary, AB, on November 2, 1939, the youngest of three children (Roberta, born 1933, John, born 1936), to parents John Leroy “Mac” McLenahan (born 1903, the District Forest Officer for Alberta and the Northwest Territories, responsible for the regions spanning from Kananaskis through Banff and Jasper National Parks and northward), and Letha Clark (born 1907, a registered nurse, who graduated from the Holy Cross Hospital in Calgary).

 

Her parents were early pioneers in Alberta and Norma’s first ten years of life would be spent ‘living off the land’, in the remote wilderness of the Kananaskis area, tutored with her siblings by their mother, via correspondence school. She grew up as an independent, confident ‘cowgirl’ and always felt a strong connection to nature, the outdoors, and to animals. These themes would recur throughout her life.

 

The parents of Norma’s mother, Letha Clark, homesteaded from Illinois, and her family settled to farm in the Yankee Valley area east of Balzac, while Norma’s father Mac moved across Canada after achieving a degree from the University of New Brunswick. Arriving in Kananaskis during the fall of 1934, on horseback with three pack horses full of supplies, Mac cleared land east of what was to become Highway 40, across from Barrier Lake. Letha and young daughter Roberta (“Bobbie”, a little more than one-year-old at the time) spent one and a half years living in a tent, while Mac built the Forestry Office. Letha must have had a strong constitution and an accurate rifle to exist in those conditions! Norma’s middle brother John was born in 1936 and the family moved into the basement of the forestry office, while Mac built the family home over the next year, completing it by the fall of 1937.

 

The timing of Norma’s arrival in late 1939, closely preceded the creation of Canada’s Department of National Defence Prisoner of War Camp 130, located on and around the present-day setting for the University of Calgary’s Barrier Lake Field Station. It was a purpose-built WWII internment camp containing some Canadian ‘conscientious objectors’ to the war, but primarily the inmates were German merchant marines and later, some of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s hardened Afrika Korps Expeditionary Forces. Amongst his duties within his forestry role as Superintendent of the Kananaskis Forest Experimental Station, Mac worked closely with Camp 130 commander Colonel W.H. Watson, and the McLenahan family became accustomed to the daily realities of living near 600-700 foreign POWs. Those deemed to be low-risk prisoners often helped supply labour around the house, forestry office, and local farms, during the construction of the Barrier Lake dam and with helping Mac clear and build Highway 40. Norma recalled being present ‘just outside the wire’ with her parents and siblings on 8 May 1945 to experience Colonel W.H. Watson reading aloud the Terms of Surrender to the German POWs, known as Victory in Europe Day.

 

Norma gained an early sense of responsibility, independence, work ethic, a love of exploration and curiosity in nature (flowers, plants, birds), and of animals – particularly horses, as these animals played a crucial daily role in transportation and labour. Her first horse was a black and white pony named ‘Silver’ and she explored the Kananaskis with her ‘best equine friend’ from an early age; bears and mountain lions were regular concerns, with the occasional POW escapee. Quite a different era from today’s helicopter parents worried about their kids walking alone to the park!

 

Norma developed a soft spot for those who were separated from their families during holidays or were down on their luck, and she demonstrated this penchant for ‘aiding the underdog’, by inviting them over for meals or offering them a place to stay, so they could regroup. As her son, I saw this first-hand as we often had different immigrant families over for meals or during holidays, and she invited various students to board at our house during their schooling. I believe this empathy and understanding of cultural differences stemmed from mom’s time in Kananaskis, interacting with the POWs, and experiencing visits from the local indigenous people.

 

In 1942, Mac purchased land northwest of Cochrane near Beaupre Lake in the Wildcat Hills, including the Ambler Farms land and a few bulls, for $7 an acre. In 1949, the family also purchased a house in Calgary at 3612 Elbow Drive and soon moved to 1312-38^th Avenue SW, so Bobbie, John and Norma could attend school in Calgary. The McLenahan kids enjoyed riding horses on the farm and helped with typical farm chores. Norma continued to hone her riding skills and compete. A few years later, Mac retired from his Forestry job and began a purebred Hereford farming operation, that would continue for more than twenty years, and his son John took over for another decade-plus, before selling the operation and most of the original land to an Ontario family.

 

Norma had been brought up with horses all her life and competed in numerous equestrian events, training registered hunters for show jumping (green hunters), one of which eventually competed in the 1960 pre-summer Olympic trials (Rome), and Norma owned, boarded, and rode horses continuously until the late 2000s.

 

During her undergraduate time at the University of Alberta in Calgary, Norma was an active athlete and socialite, ultimately, she achieved a Bachelor of Education degree in 1960. She was a university cheerleader, and allegedly was one of the masterminds behind the creation of the Lady Godiva ride and Bermuda Shorts Day, she tried out for the Calgary Stampede queen competition, and played varsity basketball and volleyball, winning the Western Canadian Championships, but losing at Nationals in her senior year. Her university team also played the Russian National volleyball team – the first televised women’s volleyball event in Canada – and lost.

 

Norma began her teaching career at Vincent Massey junior high and coached that girl’s volleyball team to a league championship, before moving to teach at Parkdale Junior High. Norma was indeed an accomplished ‘Renaissance Woman’ of many talents and experiences, with ribbons from equestrian events and trophies from team sports.

 

As Norma completed her teaching degree, she met Duane, two years younger than herself, who was also pursuing an education degree (teaching industrial arts.) Duane courted her as she began teaching, and they continued to date over long distances as Norma moved to Edmonton, to work towards a master’s degree in social work. She married Duane in April of 1966. Completion of her social work degree was interrupted by her pregnancy with her only child, Dean. Norma embraced motherhood, and the family returned to the Calgary area so she could resume her teaching career.

 

The newlyweds were gifted 45 acres on the westernmost edge of the family homestead by Norma’s father Mac, and he and Duane built a small, simple one-room ‘house’ with a closed-in front patio, three single beds, and three chairs around a kitchen table, electricity, an outhouse, and a well nearby, along with horse stables. Norma was delighted and immediately three horses took up residence so the family could ride west past the HollowWood Store and Ghost Lake, to the McDougall Memorial Church near Morley; north to the Bar ‘C’ Ranch; or northeast towards the Simpson Ranch! There were some cold winters and hot summers on the ‘little house on the foothills’, while Duane transitioned from teaching to obtaining his Bachelor of Management degree, then articled as an accountant, before setting up his private practice as a Chartered Accountant. A home was purchased in northwest Calgary to help offset the challenging frontier lifestyle and provide easier access to school for Dean and work for Norma and Duane.

 

Norma accomplished much throughout her life and was particularly proud of the difference she made during her teaching career. She eventually left classroom teaching and transitioned into the role of ‘Visiting Teacher’ and then ‘Learning Resource Teacher’; one who traveled between schools to help assess learning difficulties to build educational capacity, and in cases of child abuse, her role evolved into crisis management. Norma loved children and youth and dare I (Dean, her son) say it, she saw potential where others didn’t, and would fight for the underdog; a trait which carried over to her personal life. I feel fortunate to have learned that value from her. Her professional life mirrored the adage that if you can live your passion, it isn’t really work!

 

Norma was selfless when it came to family. Both her and Duane would sacrifice whatever it took to ensure I was provided with various opportunities; academic, athletic, and social, and I am eternally grateful. Norma’s empathetic qualities would see her look after several family members as they became elderly and passed on (Letha, 1977; Mac, 1982), her husband Duane (2001), Duane’s father Lorne (2008), and Duane’s mother Evelyn (2013). Norma’s niece Cathy (2021) and sister Roberta (2022) also predeceased her.

 

As an alumna, Norma was also generous in her support of the University of Calgary Dinos Women’s Volleyball program, https://godinos.com/news/2014/2/3/GEN_0131143939.aspx as well as gifting other family members and close friends with living wills as she probably self-identified the possible onset of dementia symptoms since her sister Roberta had begun suffering from it a few years previously. This way, Norma could enjoy and share in their happiness.

 

Norma retired from the Calgary Board of Education in 1995 after 35 years, then spent a couple more years volunteering to assess student teachers. By 1992, Duane had built a new home (with modern conveniences!) on the farm, with a garage, outbuildings, a greenhouse, and expanded horse stables, and they moved there full-time upon her retirement. Norma planted loads of flowers and tended a garden, developed a natural oasis, and many happy memories were created with family and friends until it was sold in 2000 when Norma and Duane moved into Cochrane.

 

After Duane’s sudden passing in 2001, Norma continued to enjoy travel (especially hot, sunny places), time with friends and family, being outdoors in nature and taking pictures and having horses on the last remaining 14 acres of the ‘farm’ that she and I continued to own, right up until the time where her dementia required her to be placed into care several years ago. Mom visited the farm daily, driving to and from her place in Cochrane, and would often stop in at her niece’s place (Cathy and Bob Adlington), the northernmost tip of the homestead that also remains in the family. It is indeed wonderful to have a longstanding family history and feel a peaceful, satisfying connection to the land!

 

Norma will be most remembered for her kindness, empathy, generosity of spirit, and an innate belief that people had potential; she tried to encourage, inspire, and connect with those children and youth she worked with. She wanted to make a difference in people’s lives, and I believe she did! She believed that academics and sport played an important role in developing life skills, self-esteem, and citizenship.

 

Norma is survived by her only child, a son, Dean Holden, of Calgary, Dean’s son, Devin (14), and daughter, Calleigh (12); her grandchildren, whom she loved tremendously, as well as her brother, John McLenahan, in Qualicum Beach, BC, and nephew John Davidson, of Calgary. She also has numerous extended family members, in-laws, and friends scattered primarily throughout Alberta, BC, and Washington state.

 

If friends so desire, I ask that you please consider a donation in Norma’s memory to what was formerly known as the Sheldon Kennedy Foundation; now called Luna Child and Youth Advocacy Centre https://www.lunacentre.ca/donate as she previously identified this non-profit organization, as one that is doing important work with abused children.

 

Special thanks and much appreciation to Kathy Cloutier, a long-time friend of Norma and family, along with the staff and nurses of Calgary Bethany Riverview Care Centre, who provided Norma with compassion, kindness, and patience over the past several years.

 

Funeral Services will be held at McInnis & Holloway (369 Railway St W, Cochrane, AB, T4C-2C6) on Friday, July 8, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. Graveside Service to follow at Cochrane Cemetery. Reception to follow in the Hospitality Centre at the Funeral Home. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed here.

 

In living memory of Norma Holden, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Chapel of the Bells, 2720 Centre Street North, Calgary, AB T2E 2V6, Telephone: 403-243-8200.

 

Click Here to View Norma Holden's Memorial Card