Vivian Maria Hartley
November 19th, 2013
The handmaiden of God, Vivian Maria Hartley, departed this life and went to be with the Lord at 12:15 this morning Tuesday, Nov. 19th 2013.
Vivian, with her husband Dr. Edward Hartley, laid the foundation of English-speaking Orthodoxy in British Columbia in the 1971, when they left Anglicanism and were received into the church by Archbishop Loasaph. They were members of Holy Resurrection church in Vancouver until, wanting to raise their children in the faith in their own language, they decided to found an English-speaking parish in their home chapel in Surrey BC.
In 1987 they were able to call a priest to serve them in the growing mission parish of St. Herman of Alaska, and Vivian’s first great service was that of hospitality for the after-liturgy meals and other parish events. Over the years she served the parish she founded in numerous capacities, including singing in the choir, teaching church school, baking prosphora, serving on parish council and minding the parish book store. She travelled across Canada to represent the parish at our Archdiocesan assembly.
As well as raising three children in the faith, Vivian stood sponsor for numerous godchildren, including some who later became clergy. A lover of the classics who completed her master’s degree, Vivian collaborated with Bishop Seraphim on a translation of the Psalms from the Septuagint. She and Ed always maintained their interest and ties with various Orthodox communities around the Lower Mainland, while still remaining dedicated to the fullness of Orthodoxy reaching out to the non-Orthodox from the parish they founded.
Today the parish founded by Vivian and Ed continues to grow, with members from many ethnic backgrounds worshipping together in English and raising their children in the Faith after the Hartleys’ example. Over the years members of the parish have gone on to help found other parishes in Victoria, Comox and Vancouver and to serve and live in other parishes across Canada and beyond. Several have gone to seminary and received ordination. Of all these, Vivian is rightly honoured as a mother in Christ.
Vivian’s three children were with her at her home when she went peacefully from this life into the kingdom. All of them remain active members in the Orthodox church, and Vivian’s grandchildren too are being raised in the Faith.
Vivian is survived by her husband Ed; children James, Andrea and Maria; grandchildren Christina, Alexandra, Herman, Katherine, Daniel, Anselm, and Adam.
It would be too little to say that the people of St. Herman's, among so many others, will miss Vivian greatly. She will always remain part of our parish, with the invisible choir that surrounds us in the Divine Liturgy.
Funeral Services at St. Herman’s, 7221 198B Street, Langley BC will include:
Thursday, November 21 7 pm Panikhida followed by a vigil with readings through the night.
Fri. Nov. 22 10 am funeral. Burial is at Valleyview Cemetery in Surrey with reception to follow at Eagle Quest Golf Course.
You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence for the family.
Messages:
James, the deepest condolences from Ferluga family.
Memory eternal.
Ed and Family;Vivian had a life devoted to her family and her service to God and the Church. Marilyn and I send our sympathy to you. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time.
Dear Ed and family. I was so sorry to hear of the loss of your beloved wife, mother and grandmother. My thoughts and prayers are with you all at this most difficult time.
My condolences to Dr Hartley and family. May Vivian's memory be eternal!
So sorry to hear of your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with your family at this time. May her memory be eternal! Glory to God!
Our condolences on the loss of Vivian. May God be with you all. Our prayers are with you.
Dear Dr. Ed and family, you are in our prayers during this time of grief. We remember the gracious and loving greeting we always received from Vivian whenever we visited the parish in Langley. Memory Eternal.
Beloved Hartley Family, we have been connected these last 8 years in various ways, and our hearts and prayers are with you in this time of sorrow. I (Macrina) will especially remember Vivian whenever making prosphora, as she was always a dililgent and encouraging co-baker who was quick to remind me what needed to be done and when and how - I am most grateful for her faithful example and her honest, to-the-point feedback. She will be dearly missed, though we rejoice in her 'coming home'.
Dear Ed, James, Andrea, Maria, and all the family, I was made aware that Vivian has reposed in Christ. Considering the very significant place Vivian and you all have had in my life for more that 40 years, it has been very difficult not to be able to be with you. Nevertheless, in Christ's love and in prayer, we are together anyhow. It was because of the steady, honest, hospitable, patient and loving witness in Christ that you and Vivian were able to keep the door open for me to enter the Orthodox Church. It has been because of your steady work and witness that there has been a healthy development of Orthodox life far beyond BC. "By their fruits you shall know them". I want to comment about the Psalter that Vivian did not just collaborate. She did the lion's share of the work. She took several years to accomplish this immense work of translation, and she did this while being a very active and participatory grandmother, mother and wife. She did this also with needed resources a substantial drive away. All anyone else did was refining the text. Every day, as I pray these Psalms, my heart remembers Vivian. Eternal memory to Vivian. May the Mother of God console and protect you all. Love in Christ, +Seraphim
I was unfortunate enough to not have a grandmother in my life because of the distance between us, literally. When I moved from Saskatoon, Dr. Hartley and Vivian acted as if they were my own grandparents. Because of Vivian, she made my transition from an entirely different province easier and she gave me the small acts of kindness I've yearned for. There wasn't a single year I told her about my birthday or reminded her and she'd still pull me aside and sneak $20 in my pocket with a kiss on my forehead saying "God grant you many years darling." I only wish He had granted her a little more. I'll miss her selfless acts of kindness and love for others and can only hope more people would be like her. Her children and grandchildren were so blessed to have constantly been around such a beautiful woman. I'll miss her. Memory eternal.
Our deepest sympathies to the Hartely Family. We are very sorry to hear of your loss. Memory Eternal!!! The Antoniou Family
Dear Dr. Hartley, James, Andrea and Maria: My brief time at St. Herman's included knowing all of you and your beloved Mother; Dr. Hartley and Vivian are two of the first I remember meeting. I am just one of the many many who have been blessed with the Orthodox faith because of Ed and Vivian's efforts to found and nourish St. Herman's. No amount of words can express my thankfulness to God for this work that has touched so many. My husband Rd. Daniel and I are praying for all of you, including your newly departed Mother who I remember very well. May Vivian Maria's memory be eternal and may she be remembered in God's Kingdom!
We were so blessed to have sat at the same table with Vivian and Andrea at the Assembly in Ottawa this August. Vivian is a beautiful witness of Christ and now is with Him. We are so sorry for your loss but there is that great peace to know she is in the Kingdom. Our love and prayers are with you all.
All my sympathy and prayers for the comfort and peace of your family. Although I have only met Vivian once or twice, I know that she will be sorely missed and remembered by all who knew her. Yours in Christ, Kathy Boraas
Dear Vivian --- May Light Perpetual shine upon you. We knew Vivian since her early 20's when she was a member of the Anglican Young People's group at St. Peter's (now Holy Cross). Vivian always set the standard of the highest principles in everything she undertook. She was continually cheerful and optimistic, encompassing many Christian virtues, including hope and a deep faith in God. God bless And comfort Ed and his family.
The Old Catholic Church of BC †Rt. Rev. Gérard LaPlante, Bishop – Évêque 715 East 51st Avenue - Vancouver, B.C. Canada V5X 1E2 Phone: (604) 325-9193 www.oldcatholicbc.com Vancouver 21 November 2013 Dear Dr. Hartley and family: With sadness I have just learned of the passing of your wife Vivian and on behalf of myself, clergy and parishioners of the Old Catholic Church of BC our prayers and sympathy are with you at this time of loss. Since Bishop Ioasaph’s time I have known her and your family and will always remember her as a gentle, generous and loving person. My deepest sympathy to all of you and be assured of my prayers and thoughts. Holy Mass for the repose of her soul will be offered this Sunday, 24 November 2013 at St. Raphael's Old Catholic Church, Vancouver, BC. Sincerely yours in Christ Risen. Bishop J. Gérard A. LaPlante ”May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace of Christ through the mercy of God and may light perpetual shine upon her.”
Love flows through the actions Vivian shared with all of us. These memories bolster our faith and love for each other. May the Lord comfort you every step of the way through these precious memories. May her memory be eternal.
James, Sorry to hear about your mother Vivian. Our thoughts are with you and your family during these difficult times.
To all the Hartley family: a sad time, but a joyous one as well! Vivian's wit, her energy, her infectious smile, her absolute individuality, and above all her obvious strength of faith -- these will be long remembered by all who knew her. Although our acquaintance with her was relatively short, the memories are powerful. We send our love to you all. Memory eternal.
CIX! It is with great sadness, yet with great hope in the Risen Christ, that I have heard of the passing from this life of Vivian, my beloved Godmother. She has been mom to me so long that I can't even put an actual date on it. She and Godfather Ed have played such a significant role to my being enlightened in the Holy Orthodox Faith that it goes far beyond words right now. May she rest in blessed peace with the Saints and may her memory be eternal. My prayers and condolences to the Hartley family and all of my Godbrothers and Godsisters - spiritual children of this good soul, now reposed in Christ and awaiting the call of all of us to join him in His Holy Resurrection. Igumen Gerasim (Power), Godson
The Matriarch of Spuzzum and all the West will always be remembered and loved by us. My first meeting with her was in her kitchen in September of 1995. I was still an Evangelical at that time and she was the gracious hostess when I was introduced to Bishop Seraphim. After that there were numerous occasions when we sat at her table and enjoyed her love and hospitality. Ed,James, Andrea and Maria - you are all in our prayers. May her MEMORY be ETERNAL!
We are very sorry to hear of your loss. Our thoughts are with you and your family.
To the Hartley family, My condolences on the loss of Vivian. May you find comfort and love at this time. May her memory be eternal. Psalm 91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
James, My heart goes out to you and your family in the time of mourning. You will be in my heart and thoughts in the coming days and weeks. Nicole
Memory eternal for the servant of God, Vivian, and may God grant his peace and comfort to her family in this difficult time. With love in Christ, Laura Coward
Ed and family, Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Julian Viner joins us in these.
Vivian will be sadly missed by friends not only across Canada,but also in New Zealand and the USA.Her greatest memorial will be the various Orthodox parishes in whose foundation she has been involved together with Ed and the people she has encouraged to enter the ranks of the clergy.Her children and grandchildren are also a wonderful living memorial.I join with those who sing, May your memory be eternal.
Our hearts and prayers are with you and we pay that God gives you strength in this difficult time.
Dear Ed and family, I just found out about the passing of Vivien. Our deepest sympathy. We will never forget our time together at our home in Calgary. May her memory be eternal. Love, Sam and Renee Salloum