Donald Robert Norby

It is with heavy hearts and great love that we say goodbye to our father, Don Norby. Don passed away peacefully on August 26, 2021, at the age of 91. Don has reunited with his devoted wife of 66 years, Fern – as well as his youngest son Ken. Don is survived by his children, Don Jr., Sandra (John) Holmes, Ken’s wife Maxine, Kathryn (Mike) Anderson. His grandchildren, Russell (Adrienne) Holmes, Lisa (Randy) Schaal, Sarah (Jim) Walker, Clint Holmes, Kurtis (Jacquie) Norby, Kristy Norby, Kayne (Chantel) Norby, Rob Anderson, Bailey Anderson, Jaxon Anderson (Jacky Lockhart) and 14 great-grandchildren. Don is also survived by his brother Roy (Pat) Norby, sister-in-law Phyllis Norby, brother Floyd (Dorothy) Norby, sister Deanna (Art) Scott, sister-in-law Helen Gates, brother and sister-in-law, Dana and Agnes Fancy, and numerous nieces and nephews. Predeceased by his sister-in-law Mildred Norby, sister Marion and her husband Jim MacDonald, brother Arnold Norby, sister-in-law Norma Black, brother-in-law Wes Gates and his nephew Randal Norby.

Don Norby, born in Chaplin, Saskatchewan in 1929, came with his parents, Sam and Ann Norby, to Stavely at the age of 17 in 1947. There he operated a trucking business for a time before apprenticing and obtaining his carpenter’s papers and starting his own construction company, Don Norby Construction.

Don met Fern Fancy shortly after moving to Stavely. In 1951 Don and Fern were married and lived in Stavely until they moved to Claresholm in 1952 into a house that Don built. There they started their family of four children. Don, Sandra, and Ken were born in Claresholm, and Kathryn was born in Fort St. John, BC. 

Don purchased a ready-mix concrete plant in 1952 in Claresholm. There Don and his brothers, Roy, Arnold, and Floyd worked together. The construction and concrete business kept Don and his family on the move, to Fort St. John in 1957, Prince George in 1965, Victoria in 1969, Calgary in 1973 and in 1975 they moved back to Claresholm where they resided until their passings.   

Don took great pride in working with Fern to design, build, live in, and sell 23 new homes during the first 24 years of marriage.  Their final collaboration was a beautiful retirement home build in 2002 where they resided for the remainder of their 66-year marriage. Don accomplished his goal of living at home until the end of his life. 

Don worked for 71 years, from the age of 17 to 88, building houses, pouring concrete, curb and gutter, water and sewer pipelines, building agricultural and commercial steel buildings under the business names of Norby Brothers Construction Ltd., and later Steel Form Contracting Ltd. As Don and Ken grew, they joined their dad in various aspects of the construction industry.

Goodbyes are not forever.  Goodbyes are not the end, they simply mean I’ll miss you until we meet again.

The family wishes to express sincere gratitude to the Doctors, Nurses, and Support Staff at Claresholm General Hospital. 

Memorial tributes in Don’s memory may be made to the Claresholm General Hospital or the Claresholm Palliative Care Committee via the Claresholm & District Health Foundation, PO Box 2638, Claresholm, Alberta, T0L0T0.

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