Major General (Retd) Francis. J. Norman, CStJ, CD
After a short hospitalization, Frank passed peacefully at Kingston General Hospital on the morning of Thursday August 14, 2025.
The younger son of the Hon. Harry Norman and Molle Norman, he was born on 26 September 1935, at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. He attended Selwyn House School in Montreal, and Trinity College School at Port Hope. Ontario.
Frank Norman joined the Regular Force as an Officer Cadet at Royal Roads in Victoria in 1952. He graduated from RMC in 1956 and studied at McGill for one year thereafter. He served as an Infantry officer in The Royal Canadian Regiment for 39 years until to his retirement in 1990. His last appointment was Commandant of the National Defence College of Canada; prior appointments included command of First Battalion, The RCR, and Commandant and Vice-Chancellor of the Royal Military College of Canada. Although he never identified his favourite appointment, his affiliation with RMC was probably one of the defining experiences of his life. On his retirement he continued to work with RMC in a variety of informal advisory capacities and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the College in 1995. He continued to serve in uniform as the Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel and then Honorary Colonel of the Canadian Grenadier Guards of Montreal, stepping down from the latter appointment in 2005.
He was Chairman of the Board of Kingston General Hospital from 1995-1998 and was Chairman of the Board of the Ontario Hospital Association in 2000-2001; he remained a Life Member of that Association. He served in a governance role with the local Loyalist Branch of St John Ambulance for a number of years and was an honorary member of Chapter of the Priory of St John in Canada. in 2012, he became the Secretary-Treasurer of the Heritage & Museum Committee of the Royal Military College, stepping down from that appointment in 2024.
He married Anne Marie Lemon, daughter of Frank and Marion Lemon of London, Ontario on 10 June 1961, his best friend and sharer of all sorts of fun and experiences over the years following. They had two sons – Mark and Peter. They were grandparents to Holly (Nick Poulin), daughter of Mark and Beverly Norman and to Jacob and Natasha, children of Peter and Jennifer Baird-Norman. As “Grandad”, he admired and encouraged all of their individual talents. He also leaves behind Anne’s brother Ross Lemon and his wife Tova of London, Ontario. Frank was predeceased by his brother Michael and sister Marie, both of Vancouver.
The family would like to thank the staff at the Kingston General Hospital for their kind and compassionate care.
