Harvey Howes

The family of Harvey announce his passing on Friday, October 20, 2023.  He was born in Moose Jaw, SK, and started life on a horse ranch in south western Saskatchewan.  Dad was the middle of 3 boys.  He used to ride horses with his older brother, Jack, to go to elementary school.  There are pictures of him with the family, living in a log cabin in northern Saskatchewan for a time, and then the family moved to Turner Valley in 1943, where his father worked the oil fields.  They lived in a part of town called Poverty Flats, and their home had no running water or electricity.  The biffy looked over the Sheep River.

This move to the west grew Dad’s love of the outdoors, along with fishing and hunting.  As a teenager, dad had a newspaper route that took him into all types of weather at 5:00 in the morning before school.  He also spent time working in a lumber camp west of the “Valley”.  Dad loved to dance, and he met Joan at “Canteen” (Friday night dance club) while in High School.  Dad joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1951.  Harvey and Joan were married in 1953, and their first child was born in 1955.  The family moved to Calgary in 1955, when Dad completed his 5 years with the RCAF.  He worked a number of jobs before starting with Home Oil.

They moved to Carstairs in 1960, with their 2 boys.  A daughter joined the crew in 1962.  His life was defined by hunting and fishing.  In the fall, he would be gone all weekends, starting in August, to chase bighorn rams, and finish the end of November, when elk, deer, and moose season ended.  There were also many hunts for geese, ducks, and upland birds.

Dad enjoyed his winters hunting and trapping coyotes, beavers, and badgers.  He downhill skied, curled, and he also supported his kids in sports. The springs and summers were filled with camping weekends and summer vacations in Alberta, BC, and North Western USA. Many weekends were spent up the Highwood, Sheep, Spray, and Kananaskis river valleys camping and fishing.

In 1985, Dad earned early retirement. He and Mom spent many summers camped at Deep Bay, on Vancouver Island, so he could chase salmon.  Some winter time was spent in Yuma AZ.

They lost their son, Lorne, to cancer in 1988, that was especially hard on Dad as he was not one to be in touch with his emotions.  They lived in their home until 2017, moved into Chinook Winds Care Home in Carstairs, and then to Bethany Didsbury in 2020. 

Dad was predeceased by Mom, by less than 2 months.  He is lovingly remembered by his brother, Dale (Anne); son, Randy (Cathy); daughter, Sandy; grandchildren, Shane (Laura), Dustin (Kelsey), Brandon and Lauren; and great grandchildren, Jace, Owen, Liam and Maddix.

Dad passed on his great love of the outdoors to all his family.  We would like to thank both care facilities, Chinook Winds in Carstairs, and Bethany in Didsbury, for the loving, caring support Dad received.  A Celebration of Life will be held for both Dad and Mom in the near future at the United Church in Carstairs.