DAVID HARVIE, SR.

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DAVID HARVIE SR. At White Rock, BC, on the morning of June 4, 2015, and with his family by his side, our loving father and stalwart family standard bearer, David Harvie Sr., succumbed to complications arising from recent surgery, in his 91st year. Following the onset of our Mom's Alzheimer's and her subsequent loss 10 years ago, he continued to provide the unflinchingly wise advice, strength, and support we all treasure. From his origin in Braemore Gardens, Toronto in 1924, through: serving in the R.C.A.F. and the RN Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War, University of Toronto and adventurous outdoor vocations during the post-war years, a full career back in the R.C.A.F. as a pilot at the controls, another full career as a pilot in civil aviation in Saskatchewan and Manitoba including owning and operating his own Air Service in Winnipeg, to retirement to the comparatively pleasant winter of White Rock; he has truly traversed every inch of his beloved Canada and most of the world. Although we can try to summarize the things that he did in his life, we can never convey in words alone the wonderful man he was, how deeply we shall always love him, and how secure and protected we always felt in his love and care. As we look out from his home in White Rock over the ocean vista that provided the serenity earned through a life of hard and focused work and we feel, as he did, the calming, cool sea breeze, we are proud of our Dad's legacy. We shall hold his memory deep in our hearts and pass on the values we learned from him, as best we can, for the benefit of all. To quote from a poem that Dad first heard on Christmas Day 1939, memorized, and never forgot: Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.' "So, I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night and He led me toward the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East." Your sons and daughters and their partners: David (Donna), Barbara (Jim), John (Mary Kate), Joan (Neil) and Ellie (Rob), and your grandchildren: James, Justin, Andrew, Jenna, Kristin, Emily, Taylor, Helen, Peggy, Matthew, Hayley and Simon, and your great-granddaughter Claire, are united in our grief for your loss and our gratitude for the precious memory of the home full of love and laughter you and Mom made for us throughout 52 years of marriage. We know that you are teamed once again with your adoring wife Helen, your sisters, parents, comrades, and fellow pilots who have gone before you. We take comfort knowing that someday we will all be together with you again. In accordance with his wishes, there will be no funeral service. Memorial donations may be made to the Humane Society of Canada.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jul 11, 2015