On Remembrance Day, the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) honours the late Métis veteran William Norman Schubert, who turned 99 this year and was the MNO’s longest-surviving Second World War veteran.
In 2024, his service was recognized through the Métis Veterans Legacy Program, a national initiative administered by the Métis National Council in partnership with the federal government, as well as by the MNO Veterans Council.
Today, we are honoured to share his story, as told by his family.
William Norman Schubert, known to our family simply as Norman or “Poppa Norman,” was born on April 21, 1927, in Rutherglen, Ontario.
Norman was the eldest of four children born to Irvin Schubert and Aurore (Bellaire) Schubert. As a young man, his family moved to a 160-acre farm just north of North Bay. It was there that Norman developed a deep connection to the land. He hunted, trapped, gardened and helped operate the family farm while also taking on responsibility for his younger siblings.
Norman’s father worked for the Canadian National Railway and spent considerable periods away from home, travelling and working along the railway between Cochrane and Moosonee. With his father frequently away, Norman helped care for the farm and his younger siblings.
Aware that Canada was at war, Norman enlisted in the Canadian Army at 18 years of age alongside a friend. The 5’6″, 126-pound young man travelled to Newmarket for basic training and was preparing for deployment overseas when the war came to an end. Although his military service was relatively brief, Norman answered his country’s call at a pivotal moment in history and remains proud of having served Canada.
After returning to North Bay, Norman began what would become a long career on the railway. In 1946, he was hired by the Ontario Northland Railway, initially working as a shop labourer and fireman before becoming a locomotive engineer. It was work he took tremendous pride in, and he retired after approximately 40 years of service.
Norman married Mary Davidson in 1951, beginning a marriage that would span almost 70 years. Together, they lived a simple and grounded life shaped by family, hard work and an appreciation for what they had. Having both experienced difficult times growing up, Norman and Mary wasted very little, repaired what they could and understood the value of living within their means. Mary passed away in 2020.
Throughout his life, Norman remained most at home outdoors. In retirement, he spent much of his time hunting, fishing and cross-country skiing in the North Bay area and at his remote camp east of Marten River. For his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, those places became the setting for cherished memories — fishing for walleye, picking blueberries, watching wildlife and listening to Norman’s stories from a lifetime spent in Northern Ontario.
Norman’s devotion to family has been equally enduring. Decades after helping care for his younger siblings, he visited his mother Aurore daily while she lived in long-term care, continuing those visits until her passing in 2008 at the remarkable age of 101.
In 2024, Norman’s military service was formally recognized through the Métis Veterans Legacy Program and by the MNO Veterans Council. For our family, that recognition was particularly meaningful. It acknowledged a young Métis man who stepped forward to serve his country and whose life afterward was characterized by hard work, responsibility and care for others.
Norman passed away surrounded by the love of the family whose lives he helped shape across generations. He remains a source of pride for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and an important connection to our family’s Métis history.
Norman’s story is about more than military service. He was a proud MNO citizen, a son and older brother who assumed responsibility at an early age, a railwayman, husband, father and grandfather, and a man who spent a lifetime caring for the land and the people around him.
Norman was a man well loved, whose 99 years tell the story of a life well lived.
The Métis Nation of Ontario thanks Norman’s family for sharing his story. On this Remembrance Day, we honour Norman’s service to Canada and remember the example he set through his dedication to family and community.