100 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 79 PART 1 JANUARY 2021
Harvey was recognized by all for his huge contribution to the work of the
human rights practice group and to the collegiality of our office as a whole.
He challenged those around him to be better in their work.
Outside work, Harvey and his partner, Leslie, enjoyed many shared
interests. Notable was their mutual love of travel, as was evident in the stories
and photos that Harvey shared of their adventures around the globe.
Some things demanded immediate communication to those back at the
office: occasionally, an e-mail would arrive with a picture of a pig Harvey
was feeding at a farm somewhere in the world, well off the beaten path.
Harvey was also a keen gardener, welcoming the challenges associated
with growing produce in an urban setting. For a time, Harvey lived in a
high-rise condo in Yaletown, where he gardened on his 300 ft2 patio. One
problem with gardening in a high-rise, he discovered, was high winds.
Another was an absence of bees, presumably unwilling or unable to fly to
patios on the higher floors. As he reported to a local newspaper, after conducting
research and out of necessity, he became a plant doctor. He artificially—
and successfully—pollinated his vegetable plants by hand.
Harvey loved good food, a good drink and restaurant stories to share with
friends. He also had a passion for cooking and could regularly be found in
the kitchen preparing a delicious newly invented creation, often incorporating
his homegrown produce. Harvey enjoyed a good beer, a good whisky
or a good gin with lemon.
In his last few years at the office, Harvey regaled us with humorous stories
of his family. Harvey shared his keen sense of humour with his father,
Arnold, who was, by that time, living at the South Granville Park Lodge. The
stories of their shared hijinks were legendary. Harvey’s father passed away
in 2018, in his 97th year.
Harvey was also extremely proud of his son, Michael, who graduated
from Thompson Rivers University Law School and was called to the B.C. bar
in 2016. He delighted in spending time with his granddaughter Abigail and
then, on her arrival, his granddaughter Alison as well.
Harvey retired from the Legal Services Branch in 2015. To commemorate
the occasion, he offered all of us a pig from his collection—a cherished
treasure then and now. Our retirement gifts to Harvey included a live
lemon tree, in recognition of his love of gardening, but this tree was decorated
with airline-sized gin bottles—a bit of a twist in keeping with Harvey’s
sense of humour.
Harvey used his newfound time to travel the world with Leslie, combining
adventure, exploration and a love of spending time with one another.
Harvey also had more time to spend with his son Michael, daughter-in-law