WINNIFRED I. HARVEY 1911-1990
Winnifred Harvey was born on 24 June 1911 in Rapid City, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, the eldest daughter in a family of 12 children. As a child, Winnifred thought and read a great deal, always searching for answers. She found small town life very confining, and was often ill. Nevertheless, her intelligence and photographic memory were highly respected by her family. At the end of grade 11 in public school she won a scholarship, and her uncle sold some livestock to raise the money for her to go to teachers' college. She found college especially enlightening when she met there an instructor who introduced her to the arts and to oriental thought. She then taught in rural schools for a few years. Despite the Great Depression, and the fact that she was penniless, Winnifred decided to resign her teaching position and enroll in university to pursue a bachelor of arts degree. University opened for her the life of the mind. Although materially barely surviving on scholarships, she felt intellectually and spiritually nourished. Thoughts she had had for years, and kept to herself, she now found in the writings of the world's philosophers. She was elected president of the student body and won many medals and scholarships. Eventually, however, she realized that she had found only knowledge, and not the fountain of wisdom for which she longed. It was during these years that she decided to enter an essay contest on how to achieve world peace, sponsored by one Ahmad Sorab. She wrote for information on his organization, planning to discover its point of view so she could incorporate it into her essay, giving her a better chance of winning the contest and the badly needed cash prize. Because of the correspondence and information she received, she quickly decided she did not like the organization but was attracted by one small book: The Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah. After completing her bachelor of arts degree in English, she taught at Dominion Business College in Winnipeg. There she attended a Baha'i public meeting, but still was not drawn to the Faith. Rowland Estall, a Baha'i pioneer and fellow member of an educators' association, invited her to a series of firesides, but she declined, deciding the Baha'i Faith was something she could investigate herself, so why subject herself to months of weekly talks? But she was still searching for a philosophy that made sense. After some discussions with Rowland Estall, she agreed to read the Baha'i Writings and became quite engrossed in her reading. The two often met to discuss them. In 1940, during this time of intense search and confusion, Winnifred left Winnipeg and moved to the capital, Ottawa, to begin a position with the government as a statistician. There were no Baha'is in Ottawa then, so she visited Montreal to attend an afternoon tea at the home of Siegfried and Florence Evaline Schopflocher. In June 1940, she suddenly experienced a sense of conviction, and enrolled in the Faith. Still, she believed there might be errors in its teachings so she spent every spare moment at the library trying to find inconsistencies, reading close to 100,000 pages of religious, philosophical, and historical books, including some attacks on the Faith. Despite all her efforts, no flaws were discovered. One evening, a young woman came to Winnifred's room at the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) to ask about the Faith. When the woman left, Winnifred realized that it was selfish to keep to herself the greatest thing that had ever happened to her. She left the YWCA and moved to a room where she could hold weekly firesides, beginning in November of the same year. She continued holding regular firesides as long as she lived in Canada. Winnifred's services to the Cause were many. In the Ottawa area she has been referred to as the mother teacher of eastern Ontario and western Quebec. Not only was she the first permanent Baha'i resident in Ottawa, and hostess of the first firesides, she arranged the first public meeting in Ottawa, worked toward the forming of the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Kingston, Ontario, and addressed the first public meeting in Belleville, Ontario. She taught at Quebec and Ontario summer schools, and gave talks on the Faith wherever she travelled. She is remembered not only for her eloquent, inspired and well researched talks, but also for her listening ear, quiet advice and comforting manner. Her home at 36 Waverly St. in Ottawa was the centre of Baha'i activity in the region for many years. Not only did it serve as a home for many Baha'is, but it was also a popular stopping-off place for Baha'i visitors from across the country. In 1956, she was the first Ottawa area Baha'i to go on pilgrimage and to meet the Guardian, bringing with her a gift of maps of Canada, especially of the Canadian north. Winnifred was twice a homefront pioneer. She moved from Ottawa to nearby Eastview (now Vanier) in the early 1950s to help form the first Assembly there. Then she thought of pioneering to the maritime province of Newfoundland, but at the Guardian's request she went instead to Hull, Quebec. Having moved to this French-Canadian city, across the river from Ottawa, she, in her 50s, had to learn to speak French, an accomplishment that took enormous effort. She succeeded, however, and continued to conduct regular Friday night firesides at her Hull apartment, but now in two languages. She served in many administrative capacities. She was an invaluable member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada from 1950 to 1961, serving also on the National Teaching Committee and the Canadian Baha'i News Committee. In September 1979, Winnifred took early retirement in order to serve the Faith at the Baha'i World Centre, first as a statistician, and later in the bookstore. During her vacations, she also took time for teaching trips in Nigeria and Ireland, as well as to Canada. She maintained a large correspondence with Baha'is and non-Baha'is around the world, and entertained Baha'i pilgrims, especially Canadians. Wherever she travelled around the world she served the Cause steadfastly, not only with her eloquent talks but also by the example of her life. She never tired of reminiscing about her conversations with the Guardian, and reminding all of the power of prayer and the importance of teaching minorities. She touched the lives of those she met in many ways. A fellow servant at the World Centre noted that she would be sorely missed by the young security guards who were assigned to the "Winnie Walk," when they had a chance to speak with her alone as they accompanied her up the hill to her office in the Seat of the Universal House of Justice. Despite being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Winnifred continued to inspire her co-workers in the Holy Land as well as family and friends around the world. She worked as long as her health permitted and continued to give talks, especially to the youth. A few months before her death, she wrote to her largely non-Baha'i family about her situation, assuring them that as this world was the womb of the next world, she was in no way perturbed by death. She looked forward to death as a totally new experience, with the same eagerly inquiring mind that had characterized her throughout her life. Winnifred died on the slopes of her beloved Mount Carmel on 27 September 1990, and was buried in the Baha'i cemetery at its foot. The themes of spirituality, service, and devotion to truth ran through her life. Her final task, before she entered the hospital for the last time, was to arrange for the sale of her beloved books to benefit the building of the Arc on Mount Carmel. Just after her funeral, a friend at the World Centre wrote to Winnifred's family, enclosing a copy of a Japanese print of a crane soaring over high mountains. It shows a plump Japanese lady in a kimono, riding on the back of the crane and reading a book, and had inspired one of Winnifred's jokes about riding a bird in heaven and reading. HEATHER HARVEY Contributor: Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden (47310768) • [email protected] View Memorial © 2021 Find a Grave, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have registered with Find a Grave using the email address: [email protected]. Change notification settings. Find a Grave 1300 W Traverse Pkwy Lehi, UT 84043 United States [email protected] Wed, Feb 17, 8:14 AM to me Find a Grave Suggested Edit Find a Grave contributor, Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden has made the following suggested edits. Winnifred Harvey (138710109) Suggested edit: I accidentally left this out. On 28 September, the Universal House of Justice sent the following cable to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada: Deeply grieved passing steadfast servant Faith Winnifred Harvey. Her indefatigable efforts in promoting teaching work Canada, her valued membership and services on National Spiritual Assembly of her native country, her constancy, self abnegation in discharge her responsibilities at World Centre will undoubtedly assure her bountiful reward Abha Kingdom. Convey members her family and friends deepest loving sympathy, assurance prayers Holy Shrines progress her soul in all worlds of God.
On 28 September, the Universal House of Justice sent the following cable to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada: Deeply grieved passing steadfast servant Faith Winnifred Harvey. Her indefatigable efforts in promoting teaching work Canada, her valued membership and services on National Spiritual Assembly of her native country, her constancy, self abnegation in discharge her responsibilities at World Centre will undoubtedly assure her bountiful reward Abha Kingdom. Convey members her family and friends deepest loving sympathy, assurance prayers Holy Shrines progress her soul in all worlds of God.
Contributor: Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden (47310768)
Winnifred Harvey was born on 24 June 1911 in Rapid City, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, the eldest daughter in a family of 12 children. As a child, Winnifred thought and read a great deal, always searching for answers. She found small town life very confining, and was often ill. Nevertheless, her intelligence and photographic memory were highly respected by her family. At the end of grade 11 in public school she won a scholarship, and her uncle sold some livestock to raise the money for her to go to teachers' college. She found college especially enlightening when she met there an instructor who introduced her to the arts and to oriental thought. She then taught in rural schools for a few years. Despite the Great Depression, and the fact that she was penniless, Winnifred decided to resign her teaching position and enroll in university to pursue a bachelor of arts degree. University opened for her the life of the mind. Although materially barely surviving on scholarships, she felt intellectually and spiritually nourished. Thoughts she had had for years, and kept to herself, she now found in the writings of the world's philosophers. She was elected president of the student body and won many medals and scholarships. Eventually, however, she realized that she had found only knowledge, and not the fountain of wisdom for which she longed. It was during these years that she decided to enter an essay contest on how to achieve world peace, sponsored by one Ahmad Sorab. She wrote for information on his organization, planning to discover its point of view so she could incorporate it into her essay, giving her a better chance of winning the contest and the badly needed cash prize. Because of the correspondence and information she received, she quickly decided she did not like the organization but was attracted by one small book: The Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah. After completing her bachelor of arts degree in English, she taught at Dominion Business College in Winnipeg. There she attended a Baha'i public meeting, but still was not drawn to the Faith. Rowland Estall, a Baha'i pioneer and fellow member of an educators' association, invited her to a series of firesides, but she declined, deciding the Baha'i Faith was something she could investigate herself, so why subject herself to months of weekly talks? But she was still searching for a philosophy that made sense. After some discussions with Rowland Estall, she agreed to read the Baha'i Writings and became quite engrossed in her reading. The two often met to discuss them. In 1940, during this time of intense search and confusion, Winnifred left Winnipeg and moved to the capital, Ottawa, to begin a position with the government as a statistician. There were no Baha'is in Ottawa then, so she visited Montreal to attend an afternoon tea at the home of Siegfried and Florence Evaline Schopflocher. In June 1940, she suddenly experienced a sense of conviction, and enrolled in the Faith. Still, she believed there might be errors in its teachings so she spent every spare moment at the library trying to find inconsistencies, reading close to 100,000 pages of religious, philosophical, and historical books, including some attacks on the Faith. Despite all her efforts, no flaws were discovered. One evening, a young woman came to Winnifred's room at the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) to ask about the Faith. When the woman left, Winnifred realized that it was selfish to keep to herself the greatest thing that had ever happened to her. She left the YWCA and moved to a room where she could hold weekly firesides, beginning in November of the same year. She continued holding regular firesides as long as she lived in Canada. Winnifred's services to the Cause were many. In the Ottawa area she has been referred to as the mother teacher of eastern Ontario and western Quebec. Not only was she the first permanent Baha'i resident in Ottawa, and hostess of the first firesides, she arranged the first public meeting in Ottawa, worked toward the forming of the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Kingston, Ontario, and addressed the first public meeting in Belleville, Ontario. She taught at Quebec and Ontario summer schools, and gave talks on the Faith wherever she travelled. She is remembered not only for her eloquent, inspired and well researched talks, but also for her listening ear, quiet advice and comforting manner. Her home at 36 Waverly St. in Ottawa was the centre of Baha'i activity in the region for many years. Not only did it serve as a home for many Baha'is, but it was also a popular stopping-off place for Baha'i visitors from across the country. In 1956, she was the first Ottawa area Baha'i to go on pilgrimage and to meet the Guardian, bringing with her a gift of maps of Canada, especially of the Canadian north. Winnifred was twice a homefront pioneer. She moved from Ottawa to nearby Eastview (now Vanier) in the early 1950s to help form the first Assembly there. Then she thought of pioneering to the maritime province of Newfoundland, but at the Guardian's request she went instead to Hull, Quebec. Having moved to this French-Canadian city, across the river from Ottawa, she, in her 50s, had to learn to speak French, an accomplishment that took enormous effort. She succeeded, however, and continued to conduct regular Friday night firesides at her Hull apartment, but now in two languages. She served in many administrative capacities. She was an invaluable member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada from 1950 to 1961, serving also on the National Teaching Committee and the Canadian Baha'i News Committee. In September 1979, Winnifred took early retirement in order to serve the Faith at the Baha'i World Centre, first as a statistician, and later in the bookstore. During her vacations, she also took time for teaching trips in Nigeria and Ireland, as well as to Canada. She maintained a large correspondence with Baha'is and non-Baha'is around the world, and entertained Baha'i pilgrims, especially Canadians. Wherever she travelled around the world she served the Cause steadfastly, not only with her eloquent talks but also by the example of her life. She never tired of reminiscing about her conversations with the Guardian, and reminding all of the power of prayer and the importance of teaching minorities. She touched the lives of those she met in many ways. A fellow servant at the World Centre noted that she would be sorely missed by the young security guards who were assigned to the "Winnie Walk," when they had a chance to speak with her alone as they accompanied her up the hill to her office in the Seat of the Universal House of Justice. Despite being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Winnifred continued to inspire her co-workers in the Holy Land as well as family and friends around the world. She worked as long as her health permitted and continued to give talks, especially to the youth. A few months before her death, she wrote to her largely non-Baha'i family about her situation, assuring them that as this world was the womb of the next world, she was in no way perturbed by death. She looked forward to death as a totally new experience, with the same eagerly inquiring mind that had characterized her throughout her life. Winnifred died on the slopes of her beloved Mount Carmel on 27 September 1990, and was buried in the Baha'i cemetery at its foot. The themes of spirituality, service, and devotion to truth ran through her life. Her final task, before she entered the hospital for the last time, was to arrange for the sale of her beloved books to benefit the building of the Arc on Mount Carmel. Just after her funeral, a friend at the World Centre wrote to Winnifred's family, enclosing a copy of a Japanese print of a crane soaring over high mountains. It shows a plump Japanese lady in a kimono, riding on the back of the crane and reading a book, and had inspired one of Winnifred's jokes about riding a bird in heaven and reading. HEATHER HARVEY Contributor: Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden (47310768) • [email protected] View Memorial © 2021 Find a Grave, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have registered with Find a Grave using the email address: [email protected]. Change notification settings. Find a Grave 1300 W Traverse Pkwy Lehi, UT 84043 United States [email protected] Wed, Feb 17, 8:14 AM to me Find a Grave Suggested Edit Find a Grave contributor, Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden has made the following suggested edits. Winnifred Harvey (138710109) Suggested edit: I accidentally left this out. On 28 September, the Universal House of Justice sent the following cable to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada: Deeply grieved passing steadfast servant Faith Winnifred Harvey. Her indefatigable efforts in promoting teaching work Canada, her valued membership and services on National Spiritual Assembly of her native country, her constancy, self abnegation in discharge her responsibilities at World Centre will undoubtedly assure her bountiful reward Abha Kingdom. Convey members her family and friends deepest loving sympathy, assurance prayers Holy Shrines progress her soul in all worlds of God.
On 28 September, the Universal House of Justice sent the following cable to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada: Deeply grieved passing steadfast servant Faith Winnifred Harvey. Her indefatigable efforts in promoting teaching work Canada, her valued membership and services on National Spiritual Assembly of her native country, her constancy, self abnegation in discharge her responsibilities at World Centre will undoubtedly assure her bountiful reward Abha Kingdom. Convey members her family and friends deepest loving sympathy, assurance prayers Holy Shrines progress her soul in all worlds of God.
Contributor: Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden (47310768)
WINNIFRED I. HARVEY 1911-1990
Winnifred Harvey was born on 24 June 1911 in Rapid City, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, the eldest daughter in a family of 12 children. As a child, Winnifred thought and read a great deal, always searching for answers. She found small town life very confining, and was often ill. Nevertheless, her intelligence and photographic memory were highly respected by her family. At the end of grade 11 in public school she won a scholarship, and her uncle sold some livestock to raise the money for her to go to teachers' college. She found college especially enlightening when she met there an instructor who introduced her to the arts and to oriental thought. She then taught in rural schools for a few years. Despite the Great Depression, and the fact that she was penniless, Winnifred decided to resign her teaching position and enroll in university to pursue a bachelor of arts degree. University opened for her the life of the mind. Although materially barely surviving on scholarships, she felt intellectually and spiritually nourished. Thoughts she had had for years, and kept to herself, she now found in the writings of the world's philosophers. She was elected president of the student body and won many medals and scholarships. Eventually, however, she realized that she had found only knowledge, and not the fountain of wisdom for which she longed. It was during these years that she decided to enter an essay contest on how to achieve world peace, sponsored by one Ahmad Sorab. She wrote for information on his organization, planning to discover its point of view so she could incorporate it into her essay, giving her a better chance of winning the contest and the badly needed cash prize. Because of the correspondence and information she received, she quickly decided she did not like the organization but was attracted by one small book: The Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah. After completing her bachelor of arts degree in English, she taught at Dominion Business College in Winnipeg. There she attended a Baha'i public meeting, but still was not drawn to the Faith. Rowland Estall, a Baha'i pioneer and fellow member of an educators' association, invited her to a series of firesides, but she declined, deciding the Baha'i Faith was something she could investigate herself, so why subject herself to months of weekly talks? But she was still searching for a philosophy that made sense. After some discussions with Rowland Estall, she agreed to read the Baha'i Writings and became quite engrossed in her reading. The two often met to discuss them. In 1940, during this time of intense search and confusion, Winnifred left Winnipeg and moved to the capital, Ottawa, to begin a position with the government as a statistician. There were no Baha'is in Ottawa then, so she visited Montreal to attend an afternoon tea at the home of Siegfried and Florence Evaline Schopflocher. In June 1940, she suddenly experienced a sense of conviction, and enrolled in the Faith. Still, she believed there might be errors in its teachings so she spent every spare moment at the library trying to find inconsistencies, reading close to 100,000 pages of religious, philosophical, and historical books, including some attacks on the Faith. Despite all her efforts, no flaws were discovered. One evening, a young woman came to Winnifred's room at the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) to ask about the Faith. When the woman left, Winnifred realized that it was selfish to keep to herself the greatest thing that had ever happened to her. She left the YWCA and moved to a room where she could hold weekly firesides, beginning in November of the same year. She continued holding regular firesides as long as she lived in Canada. Winnifred's services to the Cause were many. In the Ottawa area she has been referred to as the mother teacher of eastern Ontario and western Quebec. Not only was she the first permanent Baha'i resident in Ottawa, and hostess of the first firesides, she arranged the first public meeting in Ottawa, worked toward the forming of the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Kingston, Ontario, and addressed the first public meeting in Belleville, Ontario. She taught at Quebec and Ontario summer schools, and gave talks on the Faith wherever she travelled. She is remembered not only for her eloquent, inspired and well researched talks, but also for her listening ear, quiet advice and comforting manner. Her home at 36 Waverly St. in Ottawa was the centre of Baha'i activity in the region for many years. Not only did it serve as a home for many Baha'is, but it was also a popular stopping-off place for Baha'i visitors from across the country. In 1956, she was the first Ottawa area Baha'i to go on pilgrimage and to meet the Guardian, bringing with her a gift of maps of Canada, especially of the Canadian north. Winnifred was twice a homefront pioneer. She moved from Ottawa to nearby Eastview (now Vanier) in the early 1950s to help form the first Assembly there. Then she thought of pioneering to the maritime province of Newfoundland, but at the Guardian's request she went instead to Hull, Quebec. Having moved to this French-Canadian city, across the river from Ottawa, she, in her 50s, had to learn to speak French, an accomplishment that took enormous effort. She succeeded, however, and continued to conduct regular Friday night firesides at her Hull apartment, but now in two languages. She served in many administrative capacities. She was an invaluable member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada from 1950 to 1961, serving also on the National Teaching Committee and the Canadian Baha'i News Committee. In September 1979, Winnifred took early retirement in order to serve the Faith at the Baha'i World Centre, first as a statistician, and later in the bookstore. During her vacations, she also took time for teaching trips in Nigeria and Ireland, as well as to Canada. She maintained a large correspondence with Baha'is and non-Baha'is around the world, and entertained Baha'i pilgrims, especially Canadians. Wherever she travelled around the world she served the Cause steadfastly, not only with her eloquent talks but also by the example of her life. She never tired of reminiscing about her conversations with the Guardian, and reminding all of the power of prayer and the importance of teaching minorities. She touched the lives of those she met in many ways. A fellow servant at the World Centre noted that she would be sorely missed by the young security guards who were assigned to the "Winnie Walk," when they had a chance to speak with her alone as they accompanied her up the hill to her office in the Seat of the Universal House of Justice. Despite being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Winnifred continued to inspire her co-workers in the Holy Land as well as family and friends around the world. She worked as long as her health permitted and continued to give talks, especially to the youth. A few months before her death, she wrote to her largely non-Baha'i family about her situation, assuring them that as this world was the womb of the next world, she was in no way perturbed by death. She looked forward to death as a totally new experience, with the same eagerly inquiring mind that had characterized her throughout her life. Winnifred died on the slopes of her beloved Mount Carmel on 27 September 1990, and was buried in the Baha'i cemetery at its foot. The themes of spirituality, service, and devotion to truth ran through her life. Her final task, before she entered the hospital for the last time, was to arrange for the sale of her beloved books to benefit the building of the Arc on Mount Carmel. Just after her funeral, a friend at the World Centre wrote to Winnifred's family, enclosing a copy of a Japanese print of a crane soaring over high mountains. It shows a plump Japanese lady in a kimono, riding on the back of the crane and reading a book, and had inspired one of Winnifred's jokes about riding a bird in heaven and reading. HEATHER HARVEY Contributor: Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden (47310768) • [email protected] View Memorial © 2021 Find a Grave, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have registered with Find a Grave using the email address: [email protected]. Change notification settings. Find a Grave 1300 W Traverse Pkwy Lehi, UT 84043 United States [email protected] Wed, Feb 17, 8:14 AM to me Find a Grave Suggested Edit Find a Grave contributor, Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden has made the following suggested edits. Winnifred Harvey (138710109) Suggested edit: I accidentally left this out. On 28 September, the Universal House of Justice sent the following cable to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada: Deeply grieved passing steadfast servant Faith Winnifred Harvey. Her indefatigable efforts in promoting teaching work Canada, her valued membership and services on National Spiritual Assembly of her native country, her constancy, self abnegation in discharge her responsibilities at World Centre will undoubtedly assure her bountiful reward Abha Kingdom. Convey members her family and friends deepest loving sympathy, assurance prayers Holy Shrines progress her soul in all worlds of God.
On 28 September, the Universal House of Justice sent the following cable to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada: Deeply grieved passing steadfast servant Faith Winnifred Harvey. Her indefatigable efforts in promoting teaching work Canada, her valued membership and services on National Spiritual Assembly of her native country, her constancy, self abnegation in discharge her responsibilities at World Centre will undoubtedly assure her bountiful reward Abha Kingdom. Convey members her family and friends deepest loving sympathy, assurance prayers Holy Shrines progress her soul in all worlds of God.
Contributor: Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden (47310768)
Winnifred Harvey was born on 24 June 1911 in Rapid City, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, the eldest daughter in a family of 12 children. As a child, Winnifred thought and read a great deal, always searching for answers. She found small town life very confining, and was often ill. Nevertheless, her intelligence and photographic memory were highly respected by her family. At the end of grade 11 in public school she won a scholarship, and her uncle sold some livestock to raise the money for her to go to teachers' college. She found college especially enlightening when she met there an instructor who introduced her to the arts and to oriental thought. She then taught in rural schools for a few years. Despite the Great Depression, and the fact that she was penniless, Winnifred decided to resign her teaching position and enroll in university to pursue a bachelor of arts degree. University opened for her the life of the mind. Although materially barely surviving on scholarships, she felt intellectually and spiritually nourished. Thoughts she had had for years, and kept to herself, she now found in the writings of the world's philosophers. She was elected president of the student body and won many medals and scholarships. Eventually, however, she realized that she had found only knowledge, and not the fountain of wisdom for which she longed. It was during these years that she decided to enter an essay contest on how to achieve world peace, sponsored by one Ahmad Sorab. She wrote for information on his organization, planning to discover its point of view so she could incorporate it into her essay, giving her a better chance of winning the contest and the badly needed cash prize. Because of the correspondence and information she received, she quickly decided she did not like the organization but was attracted by one small book: The Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah. After completing her bachelor of arts degree in English, she taught at Dominion Business College in Winnipeg. There she attended a Baha'i public meeting, but still was not drawn to the Faith. Rowland Estall, a Baha'i pioneer and fellow member of an educators' association, invited her to a series of firesides, but she declined, deciding the Baha'i Faith was something she could investigate herself, so why subject herself to months of weekly talks? But she was still searching for a philosophy that made sense. After some discussions with Rowland Estall, she agreed to read the Baha'i Writings and became quite engrossed in her reading. The two often met to discuss them. In 1940, during this time of intense search and confusion, Winnifred left Winnipeg and moved to the capital, Ottawa, to begin a position with the government as a statistician. There were no Baha'is in Ottawa then, so she visited Montreal to attend an afternoon tea at the home of Siegfried and Florence Evaline Schopflocher. In June 1940, she suddenly experienced a sense of conviction, and enrolled in the Faith. Still, she believed there might be errors in its teachings so she spent every spare moment at the library trying to find inconsistencies, reading close to 100,000 pages of religious, philosophical, and historical books, including some attacks on the Faith. Despite all her efforts, no flaws were discovered. One evening, a young woman came to Winnifred's room at the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) to ask about the Faith. When the woman left, Winnifred realized that it was selfish to keep to herself the greatest thing that had ever happened to her. She left the YWCA and moved to a room where she could hold weekly firesides, beginning in November of the same year. She continued holding regular firesides as long as she lived in Canada. Winnifred's services to the Cause were many. In the Ottawa area she has been referred to as the mother teacher of eastern Ontario and western Quebec. Not only was she the first permanent Baha'i resident in Ottawa, and hostess of the first firesides, she arranged the first public meeting in Ottawa, worked toward the forming of the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Kingston, Ontario, and addressed the first public meeting in Belleville, Ontario. She taught at Quebec and Ontario summer schools, and gave talks on the Faith wherever she travelled. She is remembered not only for her eloquent, inspired and well researched talks, but also for her listening ear, quiet advice and comforting manner. Her home at 36 Waverly St. in Ottawa was the centre of Baha'i activity in the region for many years. Not only did it serve as a home for many Baha'is, but it was also a popular stopping-off place for Baha'i visitors from across the country. In 1956, she was the first Ottawa area Baha'i to go on pilgrimage and to meet the Guardian, bringing with her a gift of maps of Canada, especially of the Canadian north. Winnifred was twice a homefront pioneer. She moved from Ottawa to nearby Eastview (now Vanier) in the early 1950s to help form the first Assembly there. Then she thought of pioneering to the maritime province of Newfoundland, but at the Guardian's request she went instead to Hull, Quebec. Having moved to this French-Canadian city, across the river from Ottawa, she, in her 50s, had to learn to speak French, an accomplishment that took enormous effort. She succeeded, however, and continued to conduct regular Friday night firesides at her Hull apartment, but now in two languages. She served in many administrative capacities. She was an invaluable member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada from 1950 to 1961, serving also on the National Teaching Committee and the Canadian Baha'i News Committee. In September 1979, Winnifred took early retirement in order to serve the Faith at the Baha'i World Centre, first as a statistician, and later in the bookstore. During her vacations, she also took time for teaching trips in Nigeria and Ireland, as well as to Canada. She maintained a large correspondence with Baha'is and non-Baha'is around the world, and entertained Baha'i pilgrims, especially Canadians. Wherever she travelled around the world she served the Cause steadfastly, not only with her eloquent talks but also by the example of her life. She never tired of reminiscing about her conversations with the Guardian, and reminding all of the power of prayer and the importance of teaching minorities. She touched the lives of those she met in many ways. A fellow servant at the World Centre noted that she would be sorely missed by the young security guards who were assigned to the "Winnie Walk," when they had a chance to speak with her alone as they accompanied her up the hill to her office in the Seat of the Universal House of Justice. Despite being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Winnifred continued to inspire her co-workers in the Holy Land as well as family and friends around the world. She worked as long as her health permitted and continued to give talks, especially to the youth. A few months before her death, she wrote to her largely non-Baha'i family about her situation, assuring them that as this world was the womb of the next world, she was in no way perturbed by death. She looked forward to death as a totally new experience, with the same eagerly inquiring mind that had characterized her throughout her life. Winnifred died on the slopes of her beloved Mount Carmel on 27 September 1990, and was buried in the Baha'i cemetery at its foot. The themes of spirituality, service, and devotion to truth ran through her life. Her final task, before she entered the hospital for the last time, was to arrange for the sale of her beloved books to benefit the building of the Arc on Mount Carmel. Just after her funeral, a friend at the World Centre wrote to Winnifred's family, enclosing a copy of a Japanese print of a crane soaring over high mountains. It shows a plump Japanese lady in a kimono, riding on the back of the crane and reading a book, and had inspired one of Winnifred's jokes about riding a bird in heaven and reading. HEATHER HARVEY Contributor: Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden (47310768) • [email protected] View Memorial © 2021 Find a Grave, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have registered with Find a Grave using the email address: [email protected]. Change notification settings. Find a Grave 1300 W Traverse Pkwy Lehi, UT 84043 United States [email protected] Wed, Feb 17, 8:14 AM to me Find a Grave Suggested Edit Find a Grave contributor, Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden has made the following suggested edits. Winnifred Harvey (138710109) Suggested edit: I accidentally left this out. On 28 September, the Universal House of Justice sent the following cable to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada: Deeply grieved passing steadfast servant Faith Winnifred Harvey. Her indefatigable efforts in promoting teaching work Canada, her valued membership and services on National Spiritual Assembly of her native country, her constancy, self abnegation in discharge her responsibilities at World Centre will undoubtedly assure her bountiful reward Abha Kingdom. Convey members her family and friends deepest loving sympathy, assurance prayers Holy Shrines progress her soul in all worlds of God.
On 28 September, the Universal House of Justice sent the following cable to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada: Deeply grieved passing steadfast servant Faith Winnifred Harvey. Her indefatigable efforts in promoting teaching work Canada, her valued membership and services on National Spiritual Assembly of her native country, her constancy, self abnegation in discharge her responsibilities at World Centre will undoubtedly assure her bountiful reward Abha Kingdom. Convey members her family and friends deepest loving sympathy, assurance prayers Holy Shrines progress her soul in all worlds of God.
Contributor: Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden (47310768)
Inscription
INDEFEATIGABLE EFFORTS IN PROMOTING TEACHING WORK CANADA SERVICES ON NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY CONSTANCY SELF ABNEGATION IN DISCHARGE HER RESPONSIBILITIES AT WORLD CENTRE ASSURE HER BOUNTIFUL REWARD ABHA KINGDOM
UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
WINNIFRED ISABELLA HARVEY
1911-1990
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