Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Some people are born in the North, some people feel as though they should have been.

Tim Harris, 54, moved North four years ago following a life-long dream. He died in a plane crash on Oct. 4, en route to Lutsel K'e. Here, Harris is giving thumbs up to a back-burning strategy that halted a forest fire near Snare River in 2008. - photo courtesy of Karen Vincent

"My brother always had it on his mind to work in the power industry and he had always wanted to come up North," said Karen Vincent, the sister of Tim Harris, who died in the tragic Oct. 4 Air Tindi plane crash near Lutsel K'e.

Harris, 54, camped, hiked, snowshoed and immersed himself in the languages and history of the North after moving here four years ago to work for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation.

"We say that he escaped to the North. He had always loved nature, the rocks, trees and the water," said Vincent, who kept in contact with her brother mostly through e-mail and Facebook, where she'd often see photos that Harris would take of the animals and scenery of the North.

"I've never been here before, but now I can see why he loved it here," she said, as she has come North to attend Harris's celebration of life, which will be held at the Top Knight on Saturday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Gary Keith, the manager of transmission and distribution for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation worked with, and for, Harris in a variety of positions over the past four years.

"He actually interviewed me for my first job in the North," said Keith.

In Harris's first years at the power corp., he grew his hair and beard long, until shaving it off in 2009 to help raise $3,600 in Iqaluit for cancer research after taking a job there as the director of operations for Qulliq Energy. He returned to NTPC less than a year later to assume the role of transmissions manager for the hydro region.

"Tim was an approachable guy who had enormous knowledge on how to run a hydro company," said Keith.

Harris gained this knowledge over a 31-year career that began after he graduated from Toronto's Ryerson University, where he received a diploma in electrical technology.

Harris's specialty was working with power stations, the step between the generator and the transmission lines that bring power to homes.

On Oct. 4, Harris was flying to Lutsel K'e to work on a project to install more street lights in the community. There he would have estimated what equipment would have been needed, started the process in ordering it, and eventually help oversee the completion of the project.

The crash en route also claimed the life of pilot Matthew Bromley. Passengers Sheldon Catholique and Bernice Marlowe of Lutsel K'e survived the crash.

"This is a huge loss for me personally and the power corp.'s," Keith said of his friend and co-worker Harris's death. Between himself, Harris, and Harris's counterpart in Inuvik, they had almost 100 years of experience in power generation.

"Up North you just don't see that sort of experience pooled together ... Tim was the type of guy that would want us to have a toast, and share funny stories about him."

Harris is survived by his three adult children, Jessica, Jordan and Courtney and his common-law wife, Gerri Hunter.

The wreckage of the Air Tindi plane is still at the crash site and it will be transported back to Yellowknife over the next couple of days, said John Pearson, the lead investigator for the Transportation Safety Board.

"It needs to be cut into manageable pieces, and taken by helicopter back to Yellowknife, possibly to the Ingraham Trail and driven the rest of the way," said Pearson.

A memorial will be held in Tilsonberg Ont., on Oct. 28, where Harris was born.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.