He had the back of an ox and the heart of an angel, friends say.

Hundreds who knew slain soldier Cpl. Albert Storm paid solemn tribute Friday to the burly 36-year-old practical jokester who "always had a laugh, a smile and a beer" in his hand.

Storm, who was raised in Fort Erie, Ont., received a full military funeral at the armoury in St. Catharines and was to be laid to rest at the foot of his mother's grave.

To the sound of bagpipes, pallbearers wearing military red carried in the casket of their brother in arms, the man they liked to call "Stormin' Norman" for his great physical strength.

Older brother George Storm tearfully recalled being amazed that his younger sibling's "rough, strong hands" could also so gently cradle his children as infants.

The divorced father leaves behind a 13-year-old son, Joshua, and 11-year-old daughter Danika.

"Albert spoke of the importance of his career," George Storm said with a catch in his voice. "And stated it was time. This would be his last tour."

Storm was planning to retire in three years, his brother has said.

On Nov. 27, he had been patrolling in an armoured convoy when a suicide bomber drove up alongside in a minivan and detonated explosives. The blast killed Storm and his regimental sergeant major, Robert Girouard, 47, a father of three from Bathurst, N.B.

Pallbearers carry the casket of Cpl. Albert Storm from his funeral at the Lake Street Armoury in St. Catharines, Ont., on Friday.
(Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

Both men were from the 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment based with CFB Petawawa, and had been helping with reconstruction projects in Afghanistan's volatile Panjwaii district at the time.

Trained until he could squat 350 pounds

Storm's commanding officer, Maj. Peter Scott, recognized the soldier's dedication to every task set before him, saying, "he never did anything half way." So when doctors informed Storm that his weak knees would cause him trouble in the army, he trained until he could squat 350 pounds, Scott recalled.

"Albert was the kind of guy who, if you asked him to dig a hole, would probably dig it all the way to China if you didn't ask him to stop," he said, adding: "He perpetually walked around with his trademark grin plastered across his face."

Storm was an avid sport fisherman and decorated soldier who had served since 1990 in trouble spots around the globe. "He always had a laugh, a smile and a beer," George Storm said.

Afghanistan was Storm's fifth deployment, after being stationed previously in Bosnia twice, in Croatia and CFB Alert. A medic who shared a coffee break with Storm the day before the bomb attack said his friend had been musing about retirement.

Since 2002, 44 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan.