Tribute to Alain Normand, 1939–2021
Radio personality, pastor, evangelist, film producer, musician, writer...AlainNormandpassed away on June 29, 2021, at the age of 82.
Alainwas born on May 21, 1939, in the French city of Cannes, four years after his brother Guy and four months before the start of World War II. His father was called up for military service. A prisoner of war, he returned ill from a German camp and died a few months after the end of the war.
Alainregularly accompanied his mother to an evangelical church and, at the age of twelve, he decided to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. A year later, he moved to Geneva because his mother remarried a Swiss man.
In Geneva,Alaindiscovers a new evangelical church. He obtains a Federal Certificate of Competence (FCC) in administration, discovers the guitar, and wins a championship in a junior team at Servette Football Club.
In 1958,Alainbegan theological training in England at the International Bible Training Institute. At the end of his training, he was summoned to the French Consulate in London to perform his military service in the French army. Because he was a conscientious objector, he was recruited as a paratrooper-nurse, without weapons. Trained in parachuting and nursing, he went to Algeria, which was at war, and mainly cared for soldiers. This period gave him the opportunity to experience many human and spiritual adventures. He meditated particularly on these words of Jesus: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9).
After being demobilized,Alainleft for Frankfurt. He wanted to learn German, but also to learn to love Germans in the name of Christ. There, he worked in an American bank, attended an evangelical church, and continued to study the guitar. Upon returning to Geneva, he decided to commit himself more radically to the service of God. A friend from his church said to him, "Radio Réveil in Lugano is looking for an employee. You're really cut out for it!"
Read his full biography written by Claude-Alain Baehler and published on July 4, 2021, on lafree.info.
Listen to these four short stories produced by Alain Normand, taken from the archives of the Cassette Service.
