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In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
HATHAWAY, Norman Blasdell (Norm) - of Peach Lake, North Salem, New York, passed away at 96 on May 11, 2021. On August 18, 1924, Norm was born in New Hamburg, Ontario, Canada, to parents George Blasdell Hathaway and Rolena Violet Roos Hathaway. He was the younger brother of the late Frederick (Ted) Hathaway of Vancouver. Norm's entire life was filled with music, classic cars, family, and friends. His father, George, an early vaudeville performer and saxophone player influenced Norm to take up the clarinet. Before long, he was playing in jitney dance bands touring small towns in southern Ontario. Other than music, one of his first jobs was as a tool and die apprentice. This skill served him well throughout his life as he was never without a Model T Ford from age 14 until his passing. In 1942, Norm enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy. With his sax and clarinet by his side, he joined the HMCS York Navy Band in Toronto. Norm was drafted to HMCS CHATHAM in Prince Rupert, B.C. in 1943 along with 30 fellow navy musicians. He later achieved the rank of Leading Seaman on the minesweeper MIRAMICHI, patrolling the northwest coast of Canada. After the war, he attended the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD U,) to study drawing and graphic design, graduating with First Class Honours. He continued as a professional musician performing with the renowned Leo Romanelli Orchestra at the Manoir Richelieu in Quebec, the Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, and the King Edward Hotel in Toronto. He also played with Moxie Whitney's band in the Imperial Room at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. He married the late Lois Isobel Draper, a fellow Ontario College of Art student from Clinton, Ontario, before moving to Newmarket to start a family and join the Office Specialty Manufacturing Company as Advertising Manager. In 1965, he moved the family to Toronto to start Hathaway Templeton, a corporate industrial design company. He later joined Sebert Productions as Vice President and Sales Manager, producing TV commercials and award-winning corporate films. In the early 1970s, Norm and Lois formed Hathaway Associates, one of Canada's foremost design firms specializing in packaging and corporate identity. Norm was responsible for iconic designs, such as the Ontario Trillium and the Provincial Coat of Arms for the Ontario Government, as well as package designs for Smarties, Coffee Crisp, KitKat, Aero bars, and Robin Hood. Norm won First Prize for an industrial film at the International Film Awards in Chicago, and his annual reports for GM, Ford, and Massey Ferguson were highly recognized. Most notably, he finalized the design of the new Canadian flag. Norm was President of the Ontario College of Art between 1985 and 1989. He lectured on Design Communications at the University of Waterloo and University of Toronto. In 1990, he married his second wife, Lorraine L. Janus, Chief of Water Quality Science and Research, New York City Bureau of Water Supply and moved to the United States where he became a naturalized citizen. Music continued to be a powerful force in Norm's life. With Lorraine, they created the Norm Hathaway Big Band, performing in the New York Metro area. At the age of 87, Norm and his big band premiered on Broadway at the famous Iridium Jazz Club, and subsequently performed there. The band even made a brief appearance on Saturday Night Live! Norm was awarded the Commonwealth War Medal and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for his service in the Navy. He was made Colonel (Ret) in the historic 78th Fraser Highlanders - York Garrison, Toronto, a re-enactment organization that he helped form in Toronto. Norm was well known for his classic car collection, which also won him many awards. He was a founding member and past President of the Antique and Classic Car Club of Canada and a founding curator of the Craven Automobile Collection in Toronto. The adventures in his 1929 Packard continued into Norm's 90's and his mind remained sharp to the end. Norm will be greatly missed and always lovingly remembered by his wife Lorraine (nee Janus), his children - George (Charlotte), Caryl (Carla), Norman (Anita), Cynthia, Amy, and his grandchildren Nenagh, Georgia, and Bryden. So here's to a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend. Let's raise a Champagne Cocktail in his honour! (The Globe and Mail 29 May 2021)
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