Sister Agnes Sutherland
Special to Northern News Services

Holman (Mar 15/04) - Rev. Henri Tardy was born in France. He joined the Oblate Congregation in 1947. In June 1948, he was assigned to Holman Island in what is known today as the Mackenzie Diocese.

He died Feb. 27, in St. Albert, Alta., at the age of 86. Tardy served the small community of about 40 Catholics for 35 years. He did not limit his services to the people of Holman Island. He frequently travelled to the more isolated communities to visit the sick, the dying and the elderly.

He grew up in France just south of the city of Lyons. As a student, he won the top award in a math contest. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in mathematics from the Ecole Navale with hopes of becoming a marine officer.

Tardy kept a collection of stories and notebooks which helped him to remember the years he spent as a soldier in World War II.

"At first, we soldiers felt assured that we were very safe behind "la ligne Maginot." But soon, we who believed that we had no reason to fear were frightened by endless bad news and seeing and hearing guns and cannons and so many unusual noisy and heavy vehicles. I was almost ready to give up. And of course, it was most painful to see so many wounded, suffering and dying soldiers everywhere... and I, expecting to be the next one," Tardy wrote in his journals.

On a short visit home, he was in the bathtub when his sister shouted at him, "The armistice is signed!" His first reaction was to thank God that he was protected during his days in the war and in the army.

Reverend Roger Buliard opened the Holman Island Mission in 1939. Buliard taught Tardy the language he needed to speak to be able to pray and to communicate with the people during the church services and in the community.

An article in the Edmonton Journal on Sept. 4, 1953, attracted lots of attention.

"About the middle of August 1953, Father Metayer and Father Tardy left Holman Island for a 200-mile trip in their 18 ft. boat on their way to Coppermine. They got lost leaving Read Island while travelling close to the Liston and Sutton Islands. The strong currents and heavy winds forced them off their course. Then the fog closed in and the compass went crazy and their gas supplies were running low."

Rescue parties set out in boats from the Catholic and Anglican missions in Coppermine. RCMP and RCAF pilots also helped in the search.

The lost and hungry priests were located Aug. 31 by an Air Force crew flying over the Arctic Coast on another mission. They were rescued by Father Leising, the pilot with the Catholic Church plane.

They did not complain about their days of hunger and the unusually bad weather conditions. But they proudly bragged about their unusual diet.

"We lived on seal and three caribous we were able to shoot," said Metayer. Tardy added, "We were only short of tea and sugar."

Tardy was concerned about the great poverty and poor health his people endured. Trapping was limited and the white fox fur was ridiculously low in price. There was no commercial value for seal pelts and fish nets were expensive.

To help the local people to obtain the necessities of life, Tardy used to encourage the occasional visitors to purchase local handicrafts.

"I prompted an elderly Eskimo to fashion some traditional lamps out of limestone. This soon became a work of art. Out of these meagre beginnings, the Holman Eskimo Co-operative was born. Twelve years later I was convinced that the people of Holman Island were well prepared and ready to take over and run their own Co-operative. And I wasn't mistaken," wrote Tardy in his journals.

After 35 years as a missionary in Holman Island, Tardy retired to a hermitage in Kairos House in Spokane, Washington, USA.

"God led me to other spiritual and prayerful adventures in India. There I lived in a little ashram, 2,000 metres up on the slopes of the Himalayas. This experience transformed my life and simplified it. Meditation became a source of replenishment for me... I live as a hermit, in solitude, meditating four times a day, and I am the happiest person in the world," he wrote in his journal.

Rev. Henri Tardy spent his last years in retirement in St. Albert, Alta., where he passed away on Feb. 27 at the age of 86. He was buried in the Oblate cemetery in St. Albert.