HESKETH, HAROLD (1891-1978)

HESKETH, HAROLD, Anglican rector, Hardwicke, 1919-23; b. Liverpool, England, 20 Jul 1891, s/o Richard Vernon Hesketh and Margaret Mary Heslop; m. 1st, 1916, Gertrude Hollingsworth, and 2nd, 1959, Lenore Brooks Hayes; d. Peterborough, Ont., 17 Jul 1978.

Harold Hesketh studied theology at Wycliffe College, Toronto, and was ordained an Anglican priest in 1915 by the bishop of Athabaska. He was the incumbent of the church at Peace River Crossing, Alta, for four years before being named rector of Hardwicke in 1919. The new Church of St John the Evangelist was built at Bay du Vin during his term, and he conducted the opening service in January 1922. He returned in June 1926 to participate in the consecration ceremony.

When Hesketh left the Miramichi in 1923 it was to serve as a curate in connection with the work of the Anglican church in Toronto. He spent a year there and was then rector at Chapleau, Ont., for thirteen years and rector of Trinity Church in Quebec City for three years. For one year during World War II he was a chaplain with the RCAF. Afterwards, he returned to Ontario, where he served until his retirement. His last parochial appointment was at Lindsay, Ont., between 1948 and 1961. His death in 1978 occurred three days before his eighty-seventh birthday.