DANE NORDHEIM

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DANE NORDHEIM Some people are called heroes because they fight one battle in their lives. Dane was our hero because he carried his battle with him every day and faced it bravely. We lost Dane due to complications with Cystic Fibrosis on January 18, 2008. His life was not defined by the disease, nor shall his death be. We have lost a son, a brother, a grandson, a nephew, a cousin, a godson, a friend, a writer, a thinker, and one of the most unique human beings we have ever known. Dane was born on November 9, 1983 to Irene and Curtis Nordheim. He was the first grandchild for both Tom and Sheila Barker and Randi Nordheim. Due to this, he was showered with adult attention and wrapped many around his little finger. When he was eight he welcomed his little brother Shea into the family. And a note still hangs at the lake that says, I can't believe we are going to have another baby! Family was important to Dane, although we regularly drove him insane, sometimes intentionally. Friends were also important to Dane. He had a circle of friends that supported him unconditionally. His family is so grateful that he had them in his life. Dane attended school at Dr. Penner, Darwin, Windsor, and Glenlawn . He graduated from the University of Winnipeg and continued his studies in creative writing at the University of Manitoba. Dane did things in his own time and it was not until university that he found his passion for literature and writing. Dane prided himself on being well read, and had a collection of books that numbered into the thousands. He was generous with lending them out, but incredibly strict on getting them back. He felt it was his calling to bring some degree of literacy to those around him. Dane is profoundly missed by his parents Irene and Curtis and his brother Shea. They were proud of him every moment of his life. Others who will feel his absence every day are his grandma Sheila Barker, Gerda, Auntie Margaret, the Barkers and the Boyds, godfather Graham, best friend Ivan and other family and dear friends that are too numerous to mention but all very important to Dane. Flowers respectfully declined. Should you wish, donations in memory of Dane can be made to support student writers in the University community. Cheques made out to the University of Manitoba and marked in memory of Dane Nordheim can be sent to Department of Development, 179 Extended Education Complex, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2. The family wishes to express sincere appreciation to the staff of the Children's Cystic Fibrosis Clinic for their many years of care and support in good times and in bad. A celebration of Dane's life will be held at the Louis Riel Arts and Technology Center, 5 DeBourmont Avenue, 7:00 p.m. Monday, January 21. At last they were beginning Chapter One of the great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before. -C.S. Lewis, from The Last Battle

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 19, 2008