Rank: Officer
Force: Air Force
Norman Eng was born on May 7, 1925 in Regina SK. He was the second son to parents Einer (who was born in Sweden) and Hannah (Hagglund) Eng. Ralph was the eldest child. Another brother, Vernon, died as an infant. When Norman was 3 his mother died, and his father soon remarried to Myrtle Lofstrom in 1928. Together they had one more son, Allen. While living in Beatty SK at the time, the Eng family decided to move to the Peace River country, specifically the Wapiti district, where Myrtle’s father had already settled. Einer filed for a homestead, and Myrtle and the boys stayed with her father until their house was built. Einer went back to his work in SK, for one and a half years, then moved his family back to SK. In 1934, they came back to the Wapiti homestead. The family lived at the farm in summers, and in Webster (north of Sexsmith) in the winter months. There Norman and his brother went to school, and Einer was a grain buyer. When WW II started, Norman, who was about 14, and his parents moved to Fort Erie, ON. Einer and Norman worked at the aircraft factory. It was Norman’s first job. The Engs moved back west when they had the opportunity to work on the construction of the Alaska Highway, as camp cooks. When Norman was finally old enough, he enlisted in the Air Force, becoming a Pilot Officer. Soon after he earned his wings, he left on a train to Halifax intending to board a troop ship for overseas. But the war had just ended! He moved back to Alberta, farming for a while, and then moved to Grande Prairie. For many years he worked at Canadian Coachways, and later for the Alberta Liquor Control Board.
Norman married Jennie Pawlyk from Worsley, in September 1965. They lived in Grande Prairie, and they had 2 children: Karren and Wayne. For awhile, his mother, Myrtle, moved in with them, as his father had passed away in 1959.
Norman died on December 5, 2014 at age 89 in Grande Prairie, and Jennie died at age 90 in January 2021.
Source: Along the Wapiti p. 294
Surname File – Obituaries of Norman/Jennie