Norbert Peiker was never a cancer survivor.
He was a cancer thriver.
And when he left this earth Oct. 28 at the age of 84, it wasn’t because he finally lost a heroic 28-year battle with bone cancer.
Losing was never in his mentality during his long and accomplished life.
Nor was it a part of his death.
Cancer took his body. It never touched his mind. Or his heart.
I first met Norbert Peiker during his brilliant tenure as a long-distance runner when I came to Mansfield in 1990 as a reporter at the Mansfield News Journal. He was planning to run from Columbus, Ohio, to St. Louis, Mo. — site of the 1990 Lions International Convention.
I was assigned to write a preview of his plans — a fundraiser for the Lions Club and its mission to assist those with vision problems, a lifelong passion for Peiker.
Norbert then called me each evening to tell me how many miles he had run that day, allowing me to write small, daily updates along the way. He covered the distance in 12 days, averaging 38 miles a day, and raising $50,000 along the way.
That incredible journey was my introduction to Norbert Peiker, the runner, who began running as a way to get into shape and then completed 47 marathons, including five Boston Marathons.
I had no idea that would merely scratch the surface of Norbert Peiker, the man.
During the last 34 years, I have become friends with that man, the indefatigable Norbert Peiker, a man who never stopped working even as his relentless cancer weakened his strong body.
He was first diagnosed with cancer in 1996, refusing to let it slow him down.
I learned about his childhood growing up in war-torn Germany during World War II, something he documented for us in Richland Source in 2019.
I learned about his amazing work as a prominent architect at Marr Knapp & Crawfis, where he would become president in later years. He was a member of the prestigious American Institute of Architects College of Fellows, a distinction only 3 percent of architects obtain.
Norbert understood the value of small businesses. He served as the 1998 chair of the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development and helped to create the Small Business of the Year Awards still handed out every year.
He would proudly tell me about his work for eight years as a Master Plans Examiner for the City of Columbus in its Department of Building and Zoning Services. He worked the kind of long hours every day that younger people could only envy, not retiring until 2023 after 69 years of lifetime work.
He sent me a copy of the recognition certificate he received, signed by the Columbus mayor.
He would tell me about the love of his life, Barbara, who literally ran through life with him.
He retired from MKC before the firm moved into the offices Richland Source now calls home. Despite his failing health, he came to the Source’s 10th anniversary celebration in 2023, largely I think to see the offices.
He told me, “An architect is always nosey to learn how building uses change.”
I followed his career from Mansfield to Columbus and back home again to the home in Bellville he shared with Barbara. I recall the pride he had in the work he and Barbara did to help the city create Mansfield’s Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial in Central Park.
Seldom were his messages to me about his pain and suffering, which must have been staggering.
Near the end, that changed a bit.
In September, however, he told me, “My Friend, fighting pain, immobility and mental stress for years, my focus deserves to be reconnection with quality of life; therefore, I have decided on joining hospice home care. With a strong loving family on my mind I’m truly blessed.”
I had tried to get him to come downtown to be on my weekly podcast. But I sadly waited too long.
“Not able to travel. The hospice situation has me full in grip. Can’t move my legs, just physically unable to do anything of being of help,” he told me Sept. 24.
A proud American citizen to the end, the final message I got from Norbert was again about him hoping to fulfill his civic duty.
“Carl, next week, maybe Monday or Wednesday, i will try to fulfill my obligations to vote in person at Longview. With help my wheelchair should get me there safely,” he message me on Oct. 13.
When Barbara told me of his passing, I was initially saddened at the loss everyone who knew Norbert must feel.
Then, I remembered a message he sent me March 30 this year, one day before Easter:
“I’m only months away from dying having fought cancer for 28 years. I’m proud having served this country for over a half a century. God blessed me and I extended such blessings to my surroundings. Happy Easter, my Friend.”
Happy Easter to you, my friend. Your pain is finally gone and you have received final Grace and reward. You were a blessing to us all.
As I thought about, it became clear to me. If anyone ever lived up to the Bible passage found in 2nd Timothy 4:7, it was Norbert Peiker.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
