A prominent figure in Rocky View County’s (RVC) agriculture community, Harvey Buckley, passed away July 19, at the age of 83. Buckley served on RVC council for one term, from 2007 to 2010, and was a founder of the Action for Agriculture group, the Alberta Cattle Commission and chairperson of the Alberta Agricultural Products Marketing Council.
“The flag at the County office will be flown at half-mast as a show of respect to him,” said RVC Reeve Greg Boehlke. “It’s important to recognize the fact that he did contribute to the County, and did his part to ensure the County moved ahead as his vision saw.”
In addition to his involvement with ranching and agricultural organizations throughout Alberta, Buckley operated his own ranch, the Quarter Circle X, near Cochrane. According to Boehlke, Buckley brought his passion for agriculture to RVC council during his term.
“He had a fierce belief in his planning ethics, and stood behind them and championed them,” Boehlke said. “He believed in good development, but it had to be fairly dense and sparse. He was a strong advocate for agriculture, very strong, and he did it with clarity and dignity.”
Buckley received the Alberta Achievement Award of Excellence in Agriculture in 1986, the Confederation of Canada 125th Anniversary Medal in 1992 and was inducted into the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame in 1997.
Buckley is survived by his wife of 59 years, Margaret, his three children, nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
According to his obituary, he had a “insatiable passion for conserving rangeland, be it through grazing management or quelling urban sprawl.”
A celebration of life will be held for Buckley Aug. 4 at the Bow Valley Baptist Church in Cochrane at 1:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Southern Alberta Land Trust Society, salts-landtrust.org
