John Pierre Harvey's Obituary
John Pierre Harvey
John Pierre Harvey, age 95, of Spring Lake passed away Saturday, January 10, 2015, at Heartwood Lodge Hospice Residence. He was born September 18, 1919, in La Tuque, Quebec, Canada, to Eugene and Eugenie (Boily) Harvey.
John came from a large family of brothers and sisters. He was preceded in death by: Arthur, Cecile, Jeanette, Joan, Teresa, and Albert, with his sister Charlotte and brother Guy his sole survivors, living respectively in Montreal, QC and Trenton, MI. The family was very close and John’s parents were devoted to the children. John has three children: Lynn, Dennis, and Anne.
His loving sister Charlotte says “By losing my brother John, I lost a friend, a traveling companion, a confidant, and a generous brother and man. John and I always enjoyed reading and we also enjoyed sharing the readings with each other. I will cherish and miss our long conversations. I will keep John in my memories forever.”
John had an early passion for reading that never stopped. John would avidly discuss the books he read and kept up to date on subjects that he was reading in “The Wall Street Journal” and “Kiplinger Report” right up to the end. In school he was advanced several times and John graduated from college in 3 years, at the age of 17. John was quiet and humble his friends called him “a brilliant man.”
John graduated as a Mechanical Engineer and started his work career by convincing a gas station owner to let him use his lathe, thus starting a business that quickly employed 27 engineers. John was off to a great start. John also worked for “California and Texas Oil Company” as manager of the lab, in the Middle East Bahrain Island. Using his down time and free time wisely, John volunteered at the hospital/clinic at the Island for 3 years. Other employers were: “The Canadian Atomic Energy Commission”, The Ford Motor Corporation, and The Electric Sorting Machine Company which moved him to Spring Lake.
From there, The Harvey Machine, Inc. Company in Spring Lake was born as a “job shop”. John was challenged to build a machine to harvest blueberries by a doctor who owned a blueberry farm thus “The Harvey Harvester” was born. Harvesting blueberries in the short season was a manual process and the “Harvey Harvester” resulted in making the blueberry industry a national product, and a staple of Michigan agriculture, resulting in increasing production 100-fold. A prolific inventor and patent holder, other accomplishments were: Sugar Cane Harvester, Cherry Pitter, The lemon sorter, Permeameter, Fruit Volume Instrument Gauge, Baseball Pitching Machine, Tennis Ball Trainer, Harvey Tracking Trailer, Well Puller Automatic Bowling Alley Sander, Centerless Lathe for Bowling balls, Asparagus Harvester, Jet Engine Fin Finish Grinder, Suitcase Clear Index Insert, and many more. John on a volunteer basis designed and manufactured the lights that illuminate the Grand Haven South Pier. John also owned and operated Tresco Inc. until his retirement.
John left this world a better place because of his work and who he was. He was a devoted admirer of nature. John will be missed by all who knew him.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, May 9, 2015, at VanZantwick Bartels Kammeraad Funeral Home in Grand Haven. Friends may meet the family one hour prior to the service. Share memories with the family at their online guest book at www.vbkfuneralhome.com.
The family is being served by VanZantwick Bartels Kammeraad Funeral Home of Grand Haven.
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