HAROLD CHARLES HUGGINS
(1914 - 2008)
Harold Charles Huggins passed away peacefully on October 1, 2008 at Peace Portal Lodge in White Rock, B.C. at the age of 94.
He was born in Edmonton, Alberta on January 18, 1914. The youngest of eight children, the family moved to Vancouver B.C. when he was a boy. As a young teen he worked at Spencer's department store which later became Eaton's.
In his early twenties he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and spent four years at Tranquille Sanatorium in Kamloops where he met the love of his life, Elizabeth Codd, also a patient. In 1941 Harold and Elizabeth were married in Vancouver and had two children, Roderick and Jill. Harold worked as a public educator for the TB Society and the Alcoholism Foundation of B.C. He was active in the Vancouver Film Council during the 1950's.
In 1967 the family moved north to Yellowknife where Harold was Chief of Alcohol Education for the Government of the N.W.T. His years in the North were rich with experiences and included travel throughout the Arctic with his work.
In the late 1970's, Harold and Elizabeth retired to Ottawa where their son Rod and his wife Ruth live. Having developed a passion for the original British Land Rover, Harold founded the Association of Land Rover Owners of Canada and was a founding member of the Ottawa Valley Land Rovers.
Finally in 1986, Harold and Elizabeth returned to the West Coast where their daughter Jill lives, and settled by the sea in White Rock to enjoy a view of the ocean. He became a founding member the Roverlanders of B.C. and volunteered in many capacities within the community, as well as delivering the local newspaper until the age of 89.
Harold will be remembered for his love of the steam locomotive, his Land Rovers, pin-hole cameras, his hats and home brew, but mostly for his generosity of spirit, colourful character, and curiousity of life. He will be remembered by all and lovingly missed by his family.
Harold will be laid to rest at Sunnyside Lawn Cemetery in Surrey B.C. with Elizabeth, his beloved wife of 62 years, who passed away in 2003.