Born 9/14/1958
Burlington, Vermont
Died 12/8/2022
Monument, Colorado
Details of services
A Celebration of his life will be held at the Shove Memorial Chapel at 1010 N. Nevada Ave in Colorado Springs (Colorado College Campus) on January 21 at 10am. The Reverend Barbara Bue will be officiating. Streaming capabilities are planned for the service. A reception will follow immediately at the Centers for Spiritual Living located on 5075 Flintridge Dr., Colorado Springs, Colorado 80918.
Reverend Norman L Bouchard, 64, of Monument, Colorado died in his home under the care of Pikes Peak Hospice on December 8, 2022. Born September 14, 1958, in Burlington, VT, he was the son of the late Jerome and Theresa Bouchard. Norm committed to his husband, Scott Geer, in a ceremony at Mile Hi Church on October 4, 2003. When same sex marriage became legal, Norm and Scott married at their home in Monument in 2017. Norm is survived by his husband, Scott as well as his siblings, Louise Bouchard (So. Burlington, VT), Doris (Tom) Cozzy Jr. (Franklin, KY), Annette Bouchard (VT), Kenny (Robin) Bouchard (So. Burlington, VT), and Pauline (Todd) Rezoni (Wiiliamsville, NY).
Norm graduated from Burlington Vermont High School in 1977. He was very active in Chorus (under the direction of Rufus Patrick) and was invited to perform at the New England music festival competitions in 1975 and 1976, receiving high honors in voice. Norm’s high school guidance counselors, Ron and Radetta Nemcosky, helped guide him towards his career path. Norm went on to earn his BAs in Philosophy and Theology at Wadham’s Hall, in Ogdensburg, New York (1981). Norm continued his higher education by entering senior seminary at Christ the King, in Aurora, New York where he earned his Master of Divinity (1985). As a young seminarian Norm volunteered at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics and witnessed “The Miracle on Ice” when the USA beat Russia for the gold in hockey. He also served the underprivileged in Buffalo, NY where he learned sign language and miming, which he continued to use throughout his lifetime. Norm served as an assistant seminarian in various VT Catholic Parishes, then worked for a year as a pastoral associate for St Francis of Assisi parish in Windsor, VT under Father Francis Rouelle. He transferred to the Dioceses of Pueblo in Colorado under the tutorage of Father Gallagher, where he would be ordained a Catholic Priest on September 8, 1987, at the Sacred Heart Church in Avondale, CO. Norm continued serving under the Dioceses of Pueblo at St Joseph’s Church in Pueblo, CO and at St Mary’s Church in Montrose, CO through 1996. In addition to his priestly duties, Norm joined Weight Watchers where he lost over 106 pounds and became one of the most successful leaders in the state of Colorado. In 1993 he was invited to New York City to join Jean Nidetch (founder of Weight Watchers) at a Gala Celebration, honoring the highest weight loss participants. He ended up winning and was featured in two different Family Circle magazines and a Weight Watchers Magazine article with the Hash Tag “father what a waste” to “Father what a waist”.
After leaving the Priesthood in 1996 Norm moved to Denver, Colorado. He secured a job at the fledgling company, Certified Senior Advisors (CSA). He became the Vice President of CSA and helped the company grow to over 40,000 members. Norm traveled across the country teaching financial service professionals about the health, social, and financial issues faced by seniors so professionals could better serve their clients. He loved what he did and ended up speaking for Fortune 500 companies around the globe.
Norm’s faith remained constant, even after leaving the Catholic Church. His good friend, Kathleen Lenover, who was a former Catholic nun, introduced Norm to Mile Hi Church in Lakewood Colorado. He flourished abundantly, attending classes regularly, and received his Practitioners License in 2009. Encouraged by his teachers, Norm soon became an affiliated Center for Spiritual Living (CSL) minister and was ordained as a CSL minister in 2012. He worked at Mile Hi Church in the marketing Department until his passion to preach led him to the Centers for Spiritual Living in Colorado Springs (CSLCS), where he took the senior minister position in March of 2013. Norm’s need to give back was always important as seen in his countless hours of volunteerism including the Ms. Senior Colorado Pageant, Marion House Soup Kitchen, and the Christmas Tree Project, to name a few. He also served on countless committees/boards including the Colorado Springs Citizens Project, and more recently his election to the
CSL leadership council in Feb. 2021. Above all was Norm’s love and devotion to his church (CSLCS), the people, and community he served for the past nine+ years.
Norm’s passion in life was to teach and inspire. Norm taught numerous classes at CSLCS but one area closest to his heart was teaching others with Cancer to never give up. As Norm traveled on his own cancer journey, he dressed up in fun costumes during his treatment sessions to inspire healing, wholeness, and love, at Rocky Mountain Cancer Center in Colorado Springs. He loved life and inspired others to live life to their fullest! His humor, kindness, huge heart and bright light will be greatly missed and long remembered by countless people who met and knew him. A quote from one of Norm’s favorite authors, Dr Suess, says so much… “Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.”
Donations can be made in Norm’s memory to any of the following: The Norman Bouchard memorial fund, Dana Farber Research Hospital (ie. Colon Cancer Research), or Pikes Peak Hospice in Colorado Springs. Online condolences can be made on the CSLCS website or the Caring bridge website.