Clergyman’s ‘mere presence was a gift’

In a crowded Christ Church Cathedral recently, friends, family and members of the Anglican diocese of the Yukon remembered a man who influenced their lives.

In a crowded Christ Church Cathedral recently, friends, family and members of the Anglican diocese of the Yukon remembered a man who influenced their lives.

The Venerable Arthur Leonard Privett, Archdeacon of the Klondike, died May 29 at the age of 94, surrounded by family members at Copper Ridge Place.

Privett’s funeral was held June 6 at Christ Church Cathedral, where he was the director.

Many of Privett’s friends attended the service.

“The church was packed, people were standing up,” said Veronica Malerby, who used to baby-sit his children.

“Having a well-liked and respected man for a father opened lots of doors, not for jobs or business opportunities and things like that, but for meeting a lot of new people and hearing their stories,” said George Privett, son of Arthur Privett.

“People I didn’t know would, and still do, come up and introduce themselves to me and tell me something that my dad did for them.”

Mal Malloch is a long-time friend of Arthur Privett and describes him as a “sweet, lovely man.”

“He was just a real good friend, and a devoted husband and father,” said Mallock.

When Arthur Privett’s wife moved to Copper Ridge Place for care, he would bus over from Porter Creek to visit her every day.

George Privett remembers his father waking up early to go to work in the church office. He would return home to make breakfast for the family, and would be home most lunches and suppers.

“(It) was very important and there were lots of family discussions around the table,” said George Privett.

Those who knew the archdeacon describe him as a quiet, caring man, ready with an ear for listening and a hand for helping.

“He was always there to talk to people if they had problems and to give them guidance,” said friend Gordon Ryder.

“Often we had needy people at our supper table. It seems like there was always someone at the back door with a different story looking for assistance, food or money,” said George Privett.

“They were always welcoming and they took you in the house no problem,” said Nienhuys said about Arthur Privett and his wife Muriel.

Arthur Privett was looked upon by the community as an “old-timer” and a “Yukoner,” as Nienhuys describes him.

In 1990, during the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous, the Yukon Order of Pioneers crowned Arthur Privett and Muriel Mr. and Mrs. Yukon, which recognizes a couple each year for their contribution to the community.

“They thoroughly enjoyed the honour and took their role seriously at public events they were invited to attend,” said George Privett.

“Some of these people that have been here for a long time, they’re part of the history, the culture. He was one of those people,” said Nienhuys.

“He made his home in the Yukon, he came in ‘57, and he cared about everything that was going on,” said friend Ken Snyder.

Arthur Privett was originally from a small community north of Toronto and worked at his family’s greenhouse business in Ontario as a youth, which led to a life-long interest in gardening.

“When he wasn’t working, his passion was gardening,” said George Privett.

“In the fall, he would harvest his crops, blanche them and freeze them .... He would still be eating vegetables with real flavour at Christmas.”

When gardening became too much work for Arthur Privett in his 90s, his son offered to do some planting for his father.

“I came back a few days later and he dug the whole garden himself,” said George Privett.

He even had a miniature orange tree, which produces several harvests of oranges during the year.

“He would make marmalade and regular(ly) gave it away to family members, friends and church members,” said George Privett. 

Arthur Privett began his career with the church in 1946, when he graduated from Wycliffe College in Ontario and was ordained deacon the same year.

In 1947, he became priest of Garden River Church in Sault Ste. Marie, where his first two children were born.

After working as a priest in Saskatoon for six years, Privett heard of an opening in the Diocese of the Yukon and moved north in 1957 to become director of Christ Church Cathedral.

Privett took on the role of Archdeacon of the Klondike in 1965 until 1970, when he took a break from the church to work for the Yukon government helping youth.

Privett returned to the church after a year and a half taking charge of parishes around northern B.C. and along the Alaska Highway until he retired in 1980.

Privett was excited about his Christian faith, “and that is a pretty genuine thing to find now a days,” said Snyder. “It wasn’t a put-on thing. It really mattered getting it known around the Yukon.”

Privett built the chapel of St. Columbia in Beaver Creek.

“They needed a church there, they had asked for a small church,” said Malerby.

“He built it piece by piece, marked everything in Whitehorse here at his home and then had it shipped to Beaver Creek,” where it was reassembled.

Building churches and church halls was not uncommon for Arthur Privett, and he even built his home in Porter Creek where he lived until just days before his death with the help of family, friends and home care workers.

Privett is survived by his sons and daughter, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“He loved everybody that was around him and he will be greatly missed,” said friend Veronica Malerby.

“Arthur served and contributed just by being there,” said Malloch.

“His mere presence was a gift. That was something that I think we all valued highly.”