MIRV Harper is highly
respected by many pco-
ple for a lot of different
reasons.

Mirv advises voung people:
“Try and make vour living at
something vou enjoy deing —
for me it was ving.”

Friendly, big- hearted Mirv
has covered a lot of ground
during, and since, his five years
with the RCAF, a long career
with the TCA/Air Canada Air
Lines, years of involvement
with the refugee program,
active memberships with a gar-
den club and a social club, and
has made friends all along the
way.

One of ovo children, Mirv
grew up in Burnaby, B.C., his
birthplace in 1920. Upon fin-
ishing the T.J. Trapp ‘Technical
High School at New
Wesuninster, Mirv found
employment with Terminal
City Iron Works in Vancouver.

Life moved along smoothly
for Mirv and in 1940 he
joined the RCAF, receiving
ground training at Winnipeg
and Edmonton before his ini-
tial flying training at Sea
Island, here on the coast. His
final training was at Calgary,
Alberta where he asked for a
bomber command.

Mirv remembers the
Japanese attacking Pearl
Harbour, while he was home
on leave in °41. Instead of
going overseas, Mirv remained
in Canada and was sent to
Charlortetown, PEI, to navi-
gation school. In 1942 he was
stationed in Gander, Nfld. for
two years of convoy escort and
submarine search, before being
moved to fly Liberator planes

out of Montreal doing Adantic
patrols and to tly domestic
tlights for the RCAF,

Another transfer, to San
Diego, California, to tly one
leg of the RCAF around-the-
world passenger service to
Sydney, Australia. He remem-
bers being in Hawaii on a lay-
over when the Germans sur-
rendered, and being in Sydney,
Australia when the Japanese
surrendered in "45.

Toward the end of his stay
at Gander, he had applied to
Trans Canada Airlines (TCA)
for post-war employment. So
after the war he joined TCA at
Winnipeg.

Mirv and Ruth were mar-
ried in 1951 and settled in
Toronto where their first son
and daughter were born. Then
TCA transferred Mirv to
Vancouver as captain of the
coastal route. Here, their third
child was born, a son.

Yet another transfer-for
Mirv, to Montreal and tragedy
struck — the family fost Ruth
to cancer in ’70. Mirv and his
three children remained in
Montreal until 1971 when he
retired and they moved back
to B.C. to the scenic North
Shore and he bought the
home he still lives in. He lost
his pilot’s licence due to vision

Bere
NEWS photo Mike Wakefleld

MIRV Harper, a retired commercial pitot, has covered
a lot of ground in an interesting and rewarding life.

problems that required
cataract surgery in °72, after a
career of over 35 years with
TCA/Air Canada.

He and Ruth had for many
years taken the family and
joined frcnds for holidays in
Florida, so after Ruth’s death
he continued to do so. It was
in °73 that Mirv and a long-
time family friend, Virginia

Tune up Friday April 23

‘north shore

(Ginny) Jones, who had lost
her husband, decided to
marry.

In the early ’70s, Mirv
became involved with the
refugee programs bringing
Vietnamese out of Hong
Kong. He worked with the
Highlands United Church

See Refugees page 20

See

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Sunday, Apri! 18, 1999 — North Shore News — 19

183 Pemberton Ave.

985-7195

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