Obituary of John Robert Carson HARDING

May 19, 1932 – Curepe, Trinidad
September 1, 2020 – Calgary, Alberta

John Harding beloved husband of Felicity Harding (nee Burckhalter) of Calgary, AB, passed away in his sleep on Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at the age of 88 years.

John was born in Curepe, Trinidad. After attending secondary school at Queen's Royal College he worked for a short time at the Pointe-A-Pierre power station, until he emigrated to England to study engineering. Completing his studies, his fiance Felicity joined him in England from the United States, and they were married in London in 1959. John worked in Sheffield until 1961, when coming upon an advertisement that Canada was in need of engineers, he decided to emigrate to Canada. They landed in Montreal, where John quickly found a job with Montreal Engineering (now AMEC), in whose employ he spent the rest of his career. That career took him across Canada and the world. He was a member of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineers, the American Association of Mechanical Engineers and Fellow of The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (UK), and various provincial and state professional engineering associations.

His son Carson was born in Montreal in 1965, and in 1968 his son Andrew was born in Estevan, Saskatchewan.

John was a fortunate man. He loved two things deeply: his engineering work and his family. He knew that his work contributed to society, and was satisfied when he clicked the switch and knew he had played a part in all that makes the light come on. But he did not believe that he was anything more than one person doing his best, trying to do things right. A devout Christian and steadfast Anglican, he did his duty with absolute rectitude. Despite his hard work, he was always there for his family–a boy from the tropics, trying to get his family to cross-country ski, or bemusedly helping Scouts camp out in the Canadian wilderness, which was newer to him than to them. His favourite activities, aside from engineering, were chess, the Cryptic Crossword of The Telegraph newspaper, and cricket when he could get a chance to play it. He taught himself to play guitar. He loved to travel, and saw much of the world.

John is survived by his wife Felicity and his two sons, Carson (Michele) Harding of Calgary, Andrew (Janina) Harding of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England; and his five grandchildren, Rachel, Peter and Jennifer of Calgary, and Thomas and Sophia of Ilkeston.

Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date. Condolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed on John’s obituary at www.McInnisandHolloway.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial tributes may be made directly to the charity of your choice.

In living memory of John Harding, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis and Holloway Funeral Homes, Park Memorial, 5008 Elbow Drive SW, Calgary, AB T2S 2L5, Telephone: 403-243-8200.