NORMAN PENNER (1921 - 2009)

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NORMAN PENNER (1921 - 2009) Making the World a Better Place A loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle, Norman Penner died peacefully at the age of 88 on Thursday, April 16 at Sunnybrook Veterans' Hospital in Toronto surrounded by his family. Norman dedicated his life to making the world a better place for all. The son of North Winnipeg Alderman Jacob Penner and Rose Penner (Shapack), Norman grew up during the years of the Great Depression in a family devoted to the cause of social justice. He met his wife Norma at a youth conference in 1938 and they married four years later. Devoted companions for 71 years, they shared their passion for a better world, which included the world of progressive politics, art, music, opera, theatre, and a love of family and friends. After serving as a signalman in Europe in the Second World, Norman returned to Canada with his commitment to political change intact, but also with a young family to raise. Showing an uncommon commitment to fatherhood, he still managed to work in movements for social and political change for another decade. Witty and affable, Norman eventually became a successful sales agent in the electrical heating business before coming to his true calling: at the age of 41, when he enrolled in political science at University of Toronto where in quick succession he received his BA, MA and PhD. Norman quickly became a full time professor at Glendon College, York University. For 24 years, Norman was a respected and beloved teacher of Canadian political history. He authored four important books on Canadian history and politics, and wrote numerous articles, scholarly essays and reviews. Norman taught his last class at Glendon College in 1995 at the age of 74. Norman will be deeply missed by his wife Norma, his children Steve (Mary Ellen Marus), Joyce (Herman Parsons), Gary (Marlene Kadar), Bob (Shaena Lambert); his siblings Walter (Gladys), Roland (Janet), and Ruth as well as in-laws Addie Penner and Harry Gulkin (Marie Murphy); the families of his late brothers-in-law, Al and Joe Lipes; his grandchildren Dylan (Chris), Emma, Jacob, Peter and Lucy; as well as his many loving nieces and nephews and all of their children as well as his many friends and colleagues in Winnipeg and Toronto. A Memorial will be held for Norman on Sunday, May 3 at 2:00 p.m. in Glendon Hall, located at Glendon College, 2275 Bayview Avenue at Lawrence. Donations in Norman's honour may be made to Doctors Without Borders and The Council of Canadians. I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night, Alive as you or me Says I, But Joe, you're ten years dead, I never died, says he I never died, says he.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 25, 2009