GLEN ROBERT SONMOR

GLEN ROBERT SONMOR Passed away peacefully in his 87th year at St. Joseph's Lifecare Centre in Brantford on December 14, 2015. Mourned by his daughter Kate Bowie, her husband Jerome and their sons Christopher and Michael of Phoenix, Arizona. He is also mourned by his sister Jean Sonmor and her husband Regan Devine and their sons Brendan and Jake (Carolyn Coles -Devine). Uncle Glen will be fondly remembered by Kathy Duncan, Jean Doan (Wayne) and Janis Cadieux (Wayne). Glen achieved national attention when he coached the Minnesota North Stars to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1981. His storied hockey career began in Hamilton, included both a brief stint in the six team National Hockey League and a career- ending eye injury before he found his calling as a "players' coach". He coached at the Universities of Ohio and Minnesota before being tapped for the new World Hockey Association where he coached and managed the St. Paul Fighting Saints and then the Birmingham Bulls for Johnny Bassett Jr., finally winding up as coach for the Minnesota North Stars under general manager Lou Nanne where for a couple of years the Cinderella team made headlines everywhere and wound up facing the Islanders in the Stanley Cup Finals in '81. He coached for parts of seven seasons before moving over to administration and scouting. His later colour commentary was a staple in Minnesota where he was famous for never including an opposition player in his three star picks. He credited Alcoholics Anonymous with "saving his life" and the fellowship he found there sustained him through 33 years of sobriety. In 2013 he moved to Canada to be close to his family in Paris where he struggled with increasing memory problems. His death on Monday came after a diagnosis of pneumonia. Friends will be welcomed at the DWAYNE D. BUDGELL FUNERAL HOME, 1105 Rest Acres Road, Paris, on Thursday, December 17, 2015 from 3 to 5 p.m. A Memorial Service will follow in the Chapel at 5 p.m. Rev. Adrianne Robertson will officiate. A Memorial Service will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota on December 18, 2015. In Glen's memory, donations to St. Joseph's Lifecare Centre in Brantford would be appreciated. Please share your memories of Glen's long and rich life online at www.budgellfuneralhome.ca Budgell's 519-442-2200 Paris, ON