Obituary of John Leland Harvie

HARVIE, John Leland Age 94, of Hantsport, passed away October 2, 2017, surrounded by family in Hants Community Hospital. Born July 6, 1923 in Hantsport, he was the eldest son of Leland and Zella (Hudson) Harvie. John attended school in Hantsport, graduating from grade eleven in 1939. Too young to enlist, he went to work with Canadian Pacific Telegraphs in Halifax as a teletype operator. He enlisted in the army in February of 1943 and after advanced training in the Signal Corps was sent overseas. At the end of the war in Europe he was stationed at Breda, Holland. He returned to his job with C. P. Telegraphs but due to his father's declining health came back to Hantsport to take over the family grocery store until 1977 when he sold the business and became a District Manager with World Book Encyclopedia, retiring in 1983. John served a term on Hantsport Town Council and was Chairman of the School Board. He was Harbour Master for fifteen years and a Deputy Issuer of marriage licenses for nineteen years. He joined the Royal Canadian Legion in 1946 and served one year as President and thirty years as Treasurer of Lucknow Branch 109. He was a believing, practicing Christian and lifelong member of the Hantsport Baptist Church, serving on boards and committees and as a Deacon. He was a Sunday School teacher and Superintendent for thirty years and spent his declining years doing visitation. John was still driving his own car at the age of 90, visiting shut-ins and "old people" in area nursing homes, and sometimes showing off by doing a few push-ups. He enjoyed swimming in the Avon River as a boy, skating, reading and fishing at the Harvie camp by Stillwater Siding with his brother and uncles. He helped establish the Hantsport Memorial Community Centre, organized Red Cross blood donor clinics, was a long time supporter of the Progressive Conservative Party and chaired the Hantsport Memorial Scholarship committee. John was predeceased by his wife and the mother of his children, Evelyn Rose Hart (1993); second wife, Phyllis Selig (2007); sister, Margaret Forsyth Welt (2013). He is survived by his four children, Leland, Jennifer, Ellen and Andrew (Susan); grandchildren, Emily, Diane, Maria and Patrick; brother, Richard, who occasionally beat him at a game of crib; brother-in-law, Stephen Hart; ten nieces and nephews. Arrangements have been entrusted to DeMont Family Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 419 Albert St., Windsor, (902-798-8317), where the family will receive visitors Wednesday, October 11 from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m., with a Legion Service beginning at 6 p.m. A funeral service will be held 2 p.m. Thursday, October 12, in the Hantsport Baptist Church, Rev. Jennifer Riley and Lic. Charlene Reid officiating, with interment afterward in Riverbank Cemetery. Following the committal service, a reception will be held in the Baptist Church Fellowship Hall. Family flowers only by request, however, donations in memory of John may be made to Doctors Without Borders, Canadian Cancer Society or Hantsport Baptist Church. Messages of condolence may be sent to the family by visiting: www.demontfamilyfuneralhome.ca