Harvey Yuill

(1933-2023)

The family of Lawrence Harvey Yuill wishes to announce with great sadness that Harvey passed away in his sleep on Tuesday, 26 December 2023. He was 90 years old.

Harvey was a dedicated and loving husband to his wife and father to his children—and a good friend to many people. He was predeceased by his father James Bailey Yuill (1976), his mother Ruth Alexandra Yuill (1999), and brother Donald Yuill (2020). He is survived by his wife Pearl Yuill, with whom he recently celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary. He is also survived by his son Craig Andrew Yuill (and his wife Linda), his daughter Karla Michelle Yuill (and her partner Bob), his grandson Geoffery James Yuill, and his granddaughter Desiree Rose Yuill. He will be missed by his sister-in-law Mary Kostur-Tipper (and her husband Ron Tipper), his sister-in-law Bev Yuill (wife of Donald), his close friends Carol and Paul Molyski, and many other friends and relatives across BC and Manitoba.

Harvey was named after his uncle, Harvey Lawrence Yuill, who was killed in 1917 during the Battle of Passchendaele while serving with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the First World War. He was born on 14 June 1933 and grew up in the mining town of Kimberley BC. He was badly injured in an industrial accident when he was 17, creating challenges for him throughout his life. In the early 1950s, after graduating from high school, Harvey moved away from Kimberley, living in various cities and towns over the years, including Vancouver, Victoria, and Nanaimo BC—and Treasure Cay in the Bahamas.

Harvey tried his hand at various types of jobs before settling on accounting as his career path, achieving the Certified General Accountants certification in 1977. Notable jobs included working for the company that built the seven tunnels and stretch of highway in the Fraser Canyon as part of the Trans Canada Highway project; and acting as controller of the Treasure Cay resort in the early 1970s. He met wife Pearl while going to work one morning, marrying her in 1963. Harvey and Pearl moved to Nanaimo in 1991, where they lived for the next 32 years. Harvey retired from accounting in 2000.

A lifelong passion of Harvey's was listening to big band swing music from Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, and (his favourite) Benny Goodman. He often recounted travelling to Nanaimo on a harsh winter evening to see big band and jazz legend Lionel Hampton perform, then watching Hampton and his musicians have an impromptu jam session on the ferry back to Vancouver.

An avid reader, Harvey would regularly borrow several books at a time from the library. He encouraged family and friends to read as much as possible. Harvey also liked completing challenging Sudoku puzzles. He was a member and President of the Victoria Toastmasters Club in the 1970s, and regularly met with an investors club during the 1990s and 2000s. He enjoyed spending time with family and friends, especially interacting with grandchildren Geoffery and Desiree.

The toll of having two hip-replacement surgeries (in 1978 and 2011) due to the accident he had at 17, along with a stroke in 2020, led to mobility and health issues for Harvey. He spent the better part of the past year and a half in and out of Nanaimo Regional Hospital. On 23 November 2023, the day of his and Pearl’s 60th wedding anniversary, he was admitted to long-term care at Stanford Seniors Village in Parksville. (Pearl had been admitted there in May.) Sadly, he passed away only a little more than a month later.

Harvey’s family would like to thank the staff of Stanford Seniors Village for providing highly-supportive care during his short time there. The family would also like to thank the abundant help and assistance given to him and Pearl over the past few years by neighbors Rick and Beth, Garth and Janine, and Ram and Swathy.

No plans have yet been made for a memorial service or celebration of life.

Those wishing to donate in Harvey’s honour or memory might consider donating to one of the following organizations.

Vancouver Island Regional Library (URL: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/vancouver-island-regional-library/ )

British Columbia Mobility Opportunities Society (URL: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/351?v2=true )

Heart and Stroke Foundation (URL: https://app-hsfdonation.heartandstroke.ca/?pagename=DMDonationForm&s_locale=en_CA&s_fT=cont&s_pres=hsweb&s_cscid=hsweb_wtg_inmem )