Harvey Earl Ruff
It deeply saddens us to share the news that our father, grandfather, and loving husband to Lorene Ruff, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 5, 2022, after a battle with cancer.
Faith, family, and friendship were the foundation of his life. Harvey loved a good visit, was willing to listen and learn, and he always put in a few good words too!
Harvey was born in Edmonton, Alberta to Jack and Doris (Forbes) along with younger sister, Treasa (Les Nemeth) and brother, Jack Allen (Gail). He grew up on the family farm in Thorsby, Alberta, a place that would remain dear to him throughout his life.
Harvey started his professional life in banking and transitioned into construction, where he eventually became a partner and President of D&B Realty Ltd. in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Following that opportunity, he maintained several roles in real estate and retail sales. Throughout his life, he continued to farm the land in Thorsby.
Harvey married Lorene Snyder on July 11, 1964, at the Church of God in Carstairs, Alberta and they began their life together in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Daughters, Sheryl (Bob Bowhay) and Barbara (Martin Bean), soon enriched their lives. Family adventures included spending time at the farm, camping, winter picnics, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and many memorable vacations with all the cousins at Fairmont Hot Springs. Harvey and Lorene also shared many adventures travelling with family and friends, with trips across Canada, to Florida, Colorado, Alaska, Hawaii, and Europe.
Harvey’s grandchildren, Matthew and Jordan Bean, and Hailey and Connor Bowhay, will always remember their Poppa as the world’s greatest cheerleader. He loved them deeply and was so proud of each of them and their accomplishments.
A small funeral service will be held for family and friends at the Southside Nazarene Church on
Friday, January 14, 2022, at 1:00 pm. An interment will follow at approximately 3:00 pm
at the Thorsby Cemetery.
We request that friends please register to attend the service by phoning the church office at
780.437.2217 or email office@southsidenazarene.ca
The service can be accessed by live stream. Go to Southside Church of the Nazarene Edmonton and click on Watch Live.
We are so grateful for the professional care and compassion the staff at St. Joseph’s Auxiliary
Hospital offered Harvey. Their kind words and actions gave each of us courage and strength.
In lieu of flowers, it would make us happy to have you consider a gift to a charity of your choice
Harvey was such a big influence in his daughters’ and grandchildren’s lives, inspiring them to work hard, have a quiet pride in themselves and to love life. As the
“other “grandparents, we thoroughly enjoyed his company in the privilege of hanging out with the kids and the many discussions on world affairs and life. He was a kind and intelligent soul and will be greatly missed.
Our condolences to all the family and loved ones of Harvey, we will very much miss his warm presence at Christmas family get togethers and other visits throughout the years. We are so grateful to have known him and will cherish our memories of him as a caring and thoughtful person and the much loved grandfather of our nephews and cousins.
It is hard to say goodbye to over 60 years of friendship…first of all as a kid brother to my sister’s best boyfriend ever, loving the A&W root beer he would bring when he visited from Grande Prairie (he held down a night job there after his day job at the bank), and standing up beside them on their wedding day. Harvey was my trusted reliable friend. He was positive in his outlook and ever interested in my life and situations. If asked, he would respond with, “in my humble opinion’, which was most often a valuable one. He just loved to fix things that weren’t working; the truth is, I saved up jobs to do with Harvey.
My favourite memories of Harvey are from travelling together: Harvey wearing three coats in order to fly out of Spain on the stringent Ryan Air; Harvey pulling out pliers from his cargo pants in order to crack open a rock crab on a wharf in Florida; Harvey’s big smile on an early morning hot air balloon float or watching alligator wrestling, or sleeping under canvas on the Moab desert, or keeping an eye on the gypsies and Lorene’s camera in France or appreciating a worship service in Swedish…Harvey was game for anything and everything. I would have loved to have had one more trip.
Lorene and family:
Harvey was a gently soul who never met a person he didn’t like (and visa versa). I was always impressed with his dedication to his Lord, and the Church. We were all privileged to have known him. May God surround you with His peace especially at this time.