Obituary of Harvey William Thompson

October 7, 1929 - Birch Hills, Saskatchewan

July 27, 2023 - Cochrane, Alberta

Harvey Thompson, of Cochrane, AB, passed away on Thursday, July 27, 2023 at the age of 93 years.

Harvey was born on October 7, 1929, in Birch Hills, Saskatchewan.  Harvey was the second youngest child of William Thompson and Jane Thompson. He was raised on the family farm, nine miles outside of Birch Hills. It was on the family farm that Harvey acquired a lifelong love of farming and agriculture.

When his older brother Floyd left to join the Navy, Harvey dropped out of school after finishing his grade eight to manage the family farm.  He never let his lack of a high school diploma hold him back.

In the late 1940s or early 1950s Harvey left Birch Hills to head out west to the Calgary area where he found employment at the BA refinery in Calgary, AB.  However, he still had that itch for farming, so on weekends he would get jobs “stooking” for Cochrane area farmers and ranchers. It was during this time that he met a dairy farmer named Thomas “Henry” Whitfield who hired him to help with milking the cows. During his time working on the Whitfield farm, Henry and Barbara’s daughter Brenda caught his eye. A romance blossomed between the two that lasted for 61 years.

Harvey married Brenda on March 25, 1961, at the United Church in Cochrane, AB. Together they had three children. Barbara was born in 1961, Deanna in 1962, and Scott in 1965. Both Barbara and Deanna were diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis which marked the beginning of a thirty-year battle against a relentless adversary. During one of the many times that a seven-year-old Barbara was hospitalized, she found a baby named Troy who also had CF but had no home.  Barbara lobbied hard with her parents to embrace Troy into their family, and her parents agreed, and Troy became the fourth member of the family. Harvey and Brenda devoted their lives to the care of their children.

Harvey worked hard his whole life to support his family.  He worked at many different jobs from truck driving for Associated Grocers to hauling the Royal Mail between Calgary, AB, and Red Deer, AB, with his business partner Bill Bancroft.  He was manager of the P&H feed mill on two occasions. When the farming bug hit him again in 1974 the family moved to Bluffton, AB, and he managed a small farming operation there. Later it was decided to move back closer to Calgary, AB, and he hired on with Mervyn Giles to work on his ranch.

Following a move back into the town of Cochrane, AB, Harvey then took a job as a contract driver for the Calgary Herald. A job that saw him haul the newspaper to Radium, BC, each day.

In the mid 90s Harvey semi-retired. However, the farming bug hit him again in 1998 and him Brenda and his son Scott bought a little ranch in the Breton area and farmed there for eight years.  Following the sale of the Breton farm, Harvey and Brenda moved to Olds, AB, and enjoyed retirement. There they spent lots of time with their lifelong friends Al and Deanna Loshny.

In 2014 Harvey and Brenda moved back to Cochrane, AB. They lived in the east end of town, enjoying coffee with their neighbors, and other lifelong friends. In 2019 Harvey and Brenda moved to the Bethany Care Centre.

Harvey is survived by son Scott, his sisters Verna, and Viola; brother-in-law Bob (Truda) Whitfield, and brother-in-law David (Trudy) Whitfield; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Harvey was predeceased by his parents, his loving wife Brenda, children Barbara, Deanna, and Troy, his brother Floyd, and his sister Vilda.

The family wishes to thank the Bethany Care Centre in Cochrane.

If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, https://www.cysticfibrosis.ca. The Kidney Foundation Of Canada, 6007 1a St SW, Calgary, AB T2H 0G5, Telephone: 403-255-6108, https://kidney.ca or Parkinson’s Canada, https://www.parkinson.ca.

Funeral Services will be held at McInnis & Holloway (Cochrane, 369 Railway Street, Cochrane, AB), on Tuesday, August 8, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. With a reception to follow at the funeral home. Condolences, memories and photos can also be shared and viewed here.

In living memory of Harvey William Thompson, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Cochrane, 369 Railway Street, Cochrane, AB T4C 2E2, Telephone: 403-932-4740.