Tracy Kovalench
Northern News Services

KUGLUKTUK (Jul 27/98) - Residents of Kugluktuk gathered together in honor of their friend, Mary Harvey, in the community's Anglican church last Friday.

Amid dozens of flowers and wreaths sent from communities across the territories, more than 200 people filled the cathedral for one last chance to say goodbye.

"She was just the type of person who loved everybody and everyone," said her husband, Daniel Harvey. "She could always find the good in somebody."

The couple, the owners Arctic Coast Enterprises, a Kugluktuk construction company, played a key role in building the Anglican church at a minimum cost after the old building was condemned.

An active member of the church, the mother of four became the hamlet's postmaster in the 1970s, continuing her career for about 10 years.

Harvey continued her role as a messenger for the people of Kugluktuk, representing the community on action and advisory boards such as the Kitikmeot Inuit Association and the Kitikmeot Board of Health and Social Services.

She was also a popular community spokesperson at conferences and meetings held with regards to the creation of Nunavut.

"She was always involved with people and the community," said Daniel Harvey.

Suffering from a sudden acute asthmatic attack, the 47-year-old woman died July 13, shortly after returning home from almost a month of treatment in Edmonton.

Harvey will be missed by the hundreds who knew her as Mary, the dozen who called her grandma, and the countless numbers who lovingly referred to her as mom or auntie.

Her immediate family includes her husband and their children, Simon (Harvey's younger brother, whom she adopted), Korrina, Earl, Tommy and Leslie.

Yesterday, relatives in Ontario and a few members of the community joined the Harvey family at another memorial in Camp Borden, Ont.

Harvey's family brought her cremated remains to her 19-year-old son, Tommy, who is in training at the Canadian army base and could not make it home for the funeral in Kugluktuk.