1939 – 2021

Surrounded by his family the Angels took a great husband, father and friend to many on January 29, 2021.  At the age of 81 Harvey leaves behind his wife of 60 years Albina (nee Piva) and 4 children,  Teresa (Grant), Brent (Donna), Lana (Bill) and Kurt (Jennifer).  He also leaves behind a contingent of beautiful grandchildren (Aaron, Lisa, Amy, Ryan, Kayla, Bryce, Kyle, Andrea, Charlotte and Sonia) and great grandchildren (Lyriq, Brooklyn, Bridger, Moss, Beau, Maddison, Tessa, Jazelle, Jaxson, Berkeley, Hudson, and Remy); all of whom he loved more than can be expressed in words.  Harvey is predeceased by his mother Esther, father Gunnard, his brothers Irving and Eldwin and leaves behind many extended family members whom he loved and cherished (including his older sister Fern, who is 97 years old).

Born in Comrey, Alberta Harvey moved to Vernon BC in 1943 and then to Kamloops 1956 where he graduated as class president and valedictorian from North Kamloops Secondary School.  As young boys in the 1950’s Harvey and his brother Eldwin were avid skiers and outdoorsman.  In fact, their father made touring skis for them in which they would often hike up their local mountain, Silver Star.  His love for the outdoors was passed on to both his children and grandchildren.  He stayed active hunting, fishing, wake surfing and snowmobiling until he took ill last November.

Harvey and Albina met in Kamloops in 1959 and a lifelong partnership began. Married in 1960, they moved to Vancouver where he began his business career working for Beneficial Finance.  In 1969, Harvey left Beneficial Finance to become one of the first private mortgage lenders in Canada and founded what is now known as Alpine Credits.  Over the years Harvey grew the business into one of the most successful private mortgage companies in Western Canada ensuring everyone knew its name.  In addition to this, he started Ryan Mortgage Corporation in 1984, which is now a major corporation with activities spanning across Canada.   Staying true to his family beliefs the company was named after his first grandchild.

Harvey and Albina had an extensive love for travel, often with their children and on their own.  Their travels included far off places including Italy, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, France and of course Sweden (the origin of the Wipp Family).  In addition to this they spent over 20 years as snow birds travelling with good friends in their motor home & during the past several years could be found pool side at their ocean residence in Mexico.

Harvey never forgot his roots & what was most important in life: friends and family.  His generosity and love has touched many lives and the adventures he took people on will be memories that will last their lifetime.  He will be dearly missed.

Due to Covid 19 a celebration of Harvey’s life will be postponed to a later date.  However, a zoom funeral memorial will be held on February 15, 2021 at 3 PM.  Should you wish to join, please send your email to the following address:   HWservice@alpinecredits.ca.  In addition to this a blog page has been set up and can be found at amurgroup.ca/harveywipp/life.

In lieu of flowers, the family would request a donation on behalf of Harvey Wipp to the BC Wildlife Federation.

 

• Date : 2021-01-29