John A. Bovey, Archivist Emeritus of British Columbia

In the early hours of 12 Jan 2005, John Bovey passed away in Winnipeg. He and his wife, Pat had just returned from a baby-sitting stint with their only grandchild in London, UK. A funeral is planned for Winnipeg and a memorial service in BC at a later date.

For over thirty-five years, John Bovey was a provincial/territorial archivist (NWT, MB and BC) and was involved in many of the key developments of the Canadian and British Columbian archival networks.

Within his tenure in British Columbia (1979-1999), many notable achievements occurred which further the documentary heritage of our province. With John at its helm, the BC Archives and its archivists integrated records management and archival administration into a single coordinated program; developed a standardization approach to BC government records classification and scheduling (and copied to various degrees in other Commonwealth jurisdictions); pioneered the use of the Internet for archival reference and research; and established a funding program for Community Archives. Our staff members contributed heavily to the research undertaken for the Rules of Archival Description and John was a founding member of the BC Archives Council.

His life long passion for history and heritage can be highlighted by his early research work, while a student at UBC, on Margaret Ormsby's British Columbia: A History and by his later two-term appointment as the BC member to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Many of us will remember his little black book where the details of little and great events were recorded for posterity. His natural curiosity and his love of historical trivia was gigantic as his little script revealed the names, events and dates of significance. Whether the feast day of saints, the major naval battles of Nelson, the number of funnels on the Empress of Ireland, or the last day of snowfall in Victoria the little black book recorded it all. Dare I say that I and many of the senior archivists have had their stories recorded in his "book."

As great as his passion for our history and heritage, his love for his family was much greater. His quiet support and pride in the achievements of his wife, Pat, as Director of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and latterly, of Winnipeg Art Gallery; his daughter Alex, earning her PhD, publishing her thesis and her work at the British Museum; and daughter, Catherine working with British television, was ever present in his conversations. The recent arrival of grandchild, Georgia was the topic of every conversation and her pictures filled his already bursting billfold.

Of all the achievements that his archives created, many will remember John the person, the great storyteller and raconteur, who could bring an entire hall to laughter as he recited a tale or story from our history.

Gary A. Mitchell, CRM
Provincial Archivist and Director
Royal BC Museum Corporation

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© 2005 Archives Association of British Columbia