Harvey James “Harv” Moore, age 90, passed away peacefully on February 6th, 2025 at Northumberland Hills Hospital, Cobourg, after a brief illness.

Harv was born on November 29, 1934 in Toronto to Harvey James Moore, Sr., and Kate (Ringrose) Moore. He attended Riverdale Collegiate in Toronto, after which he worked at Colgate-Palmolive. In 1961, he discovered a passion for teaching, only a few months after he married Ruth, who he met on a blind date in 1960. After a year at Lakeshore Teacher’s College, Harv and Ruth moved to Brighton where Harv taught at Lawson Settlement School, a one-room schoolhouse, from 1962 until early-1964 when he moved to the new Spring Valley Public School, becoming Principal in 1965. He moved to Smithfield Public School as principal/teacher in 1979, then decided to return to the classroom full-time in 1986, retiring in 1994 after 32 years as an educator.

A proud and involved member of the Brighton community, Harv joined the congregation at Trinity-St. Andrew’s United Church shortly after coming to Brighton and became a dedicated servant to the church, serving in many capacities, including on the committee that planned the church’s 150th Anniversary in 1998.

In 1970, he joined the Brighton Lion’s Club and Lionism became one of his greatest passions. He served variously as Zone Chairman, Deputy District Governor and District Governor in District A-3, making many lifelong friends. One of his proudest accomplishments was serving on the Board of Directors and then as Chairman of the Lion’s Foundation of Canada, which provides dog guides for many different needs—a perfect place for a lifelong dog lover. He also served as President of the Brighton Club several times. Harv received multiple awards during his time in Lionism, including a Melvin Jones Fellowship (the highest award in Lionism), a Helen Keller Fellowship, and the Judge Brian Stevenson Progressive Fellowship. The Brighton Lions Club also made him a Life Member.

After retiring, Harv and Ruth traveled extensively across North America, fulfilling his ambition to visit all the states below the 49th parallel and all Canadian provinces. One of his only regrets was that he never made it to the Canadian territories. Harv loved many places but Newfoundland was his favourite.

Harv was a lifelong fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Argonauts and Toronto Blue Jays. He played a number of sports but hockey was his game. He played many years with the old timers, retiring only at the request of his wife after far too many multi-coloured bruises.

If asked what was most important to him, Harv would start with the love of his life, his wife, Ruth (Hawken) Moore, and his family, including children Keith (Ulla Hester) of Boulder, Colo., Kim Conley of Brighton, Linda (Les) Boyd of Mississauga, and Nancy (Joel) Alden of Toronto, grandchildren Tammie (Andrew) Mosher, Nicole (Darryl) Smitten, Katelin (Steve King) Boyd, Danielle (Remi) Chabot, Kayla (Ryan) Parkes, Abby Conley, and Noah and Anika Alden, plus seven great-grandchildren.

Harv’s family will remember him for many things, some important and some not so important: his sense of humour, his love of chocolate, his gentlemanliness, his dedication to service and helping other people, his refusal to give anything less than 150%, his colourful language while watching the Leafs or Argos play, his complete inability to cook, his knowledge of useless facts, and the way every dog adored him.

The number of people Harv’s family would like to thank is too large to mention but they would particularly like to acknowledge the staff and residents at Palisade Gardens in Cobourg (where Ruth continues to live and would love to have guests), the staff on Inpatient Wing 2B, Dr. Mulé and the Palliative Care unit of Northumberland Hills Hospital, the PSWs of Flourish At Home, and his church and Lions community.

If you would like to honour Harv’s memory with a donation, please consider the Lion’s Foundation of Canada and its exceptional dog guide programs, and Trinity-St. Andrew’s United Church.

We will hold a celebration of life on Saturday, May 31 at 11 a.m. at Trinity-St. Andrew's United Church in Brighton.

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