Norbert Franzen

FRANZEN _ Norbert Paul 1953 - 2007 Norbert Paul Franzen of Calgary, passed away on Friday, June 15, 2007 at the age of 53 years. Norbert was raised and lived most of his life in Moenchengladbach, Germany. He also lived for several years in Oldenburg, Germany, before he immigrated to Canada. He arrived in Vancouver, B.C. on April 5, 1995 and moved to Golden, B.C. in June of 1995. Together with his partner he ran the Rocky Mountain Motel for six years. After having sold the motel, he operated Golden Mountain Adventures - bookings and more Ltd., a small central reservation and adventure booking agency for Kicking Horse Country. In 2004, Norbert moved to Calgary. Early on, Norbert held an interest in the community, especially in tourism. He was the driving force behind, and co-founder of, the G-TEAM (Golden Tourism Entrepreneurs Association for Marketing), later known as the Golden Tourism Association. As a long-time director and president from 1997 to 1998, Norbert developed strong ties to fellow tourism entrepreneurs. He worked countless hours as a volunteer, helping build a tourism organization for Golden and area. Norbert loved Canada, Golden and Kicking Horse Country for all they have to offer. He became a Canadian Citizen in 1999. Through his booking agency, he tried to attract visitors from Europe and Canada to Golden's beautiful area. However, government regulations in B.C. limited the way he was able to do business, so Norbert moved to Alberta in 2004, where such restrictions did not exist. In Calgary, he became very active within the German expatriate community and helped new immigrants settle in Canada, making their transition into a new life easier. Norbert enjoyed sharing his knowledge and experience with others, whether it was through the group he founded two years ago, "Deutsche in Calgary", or on several internet forums under the aliases "Rockiesman" and "Calgarian". While participating on the forums, he was sometimes critical, other times humorous, but always full of valuable information. Norbert was pleased with the success of the "Deutsche in Calgary" monthly meetings, enjoying them most when everyone participated and had a great amount of fun. He usually stayed in the background and smiled, already planning the next event. In 2006, he returned to work in hotel reception, as he had before at the Park Hotel on the German North Sea Island of Wangerooge, when in preparation for his immigration to Canada. He last worked at the Travelodge on Macleod Trail in Calgary. Norbert will be remembered as a very active and informed citizen, always having the community at heart, asking many questions, and never holding back in helping and giving advice to his friends and fellow entrepreneurs. He left a lasting impression on us and he will be missed by his family, friends, the former members of the G-TEAM, and all members of the forums ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/DeutscheInCalgary/ and www.thecanadian.de/ . He is survived by his mother, Maria Franzen; brothers and sisters-in-law, Wilfried and Ute Franzen and their children, Daniel and Katrin, and Harald and Manuela Franzen, all of Moenchengladbach, Germany. To email expressions of sympathy: norberts-family-in-germany@online.ms. HERITAGE FUNERAL SERVICES "Heritage Funeral Home" Telephone: 299-0100.