Obituary of Norman Roger Lowes

LOWES: It is with great sorrow that I announce the passing of my beloved husband Norman, on Tuesday, January 24, 2017 after a valiant battle with Parkinson's disease and malignant melanoma. He was a young 70 years old. Norm grew up in the farming community of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan where he cared for injured and sick animals even as a young child. His compassion and love for animals led him to a distinguished career in veterinary medicine, which he proclaimed as "the best profession in the world, as you can make a difference with both people and their animals". He graduated from WCVM with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery, and later with a Master's degree in veterinary clinical pathology. He spent his career doing both small animal practice work, emergency medicine as well as diagnostic pathology in several laboratories in Western Canada and England. Norm was the director of the first private veterinary diagnostic laboratory established in Vancouver and was one of the founding owners of Central Laboratories for Veterinarians. He was a pioneer in telecytology, bringing rapid diagnosis turnaround to practitioners via live streaming. Norm was also passionate about sports and played football for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies during his time at WCVM and was named all-star offensive guard (1967) and all-star line backer (1969), which led to a try- out contract with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. In later years he became an avid cyclist and advocate for the benefit of exercise in mitigating the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Many people in Brandon saw him diligently cycling down Highway 10 or the TransCanada. Norm truly loved life, and lived it fully every day. His greatest legacy is the empathy and the compassion he showed all living things and his positiveness and optimism in the face of adversity. Norm is survived by his wife Lynda; his children: Kendra, Amanda and Adam; granddaughter Alexis and brother Neil (Ruth). He will also be missed by his precious dogs Sadie and Abbey, and two cats, Jasmine and Thomas. A Celebration of Norm's life will take place on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at the Calvary Temple Church, 620- 34th Street, Brandon, Manitoba at 1:00 p.m. If desired, donations in memory of Norm may be made to a scholarship fund for graduate studies in veterinary clinical pathology via donate.usask.ca/online/wcvm.php or a charity of your choice.