About 11:30 a.m. October 17, Ilarion Peter Soiman collapsed on the street near the Capital theatre. He was taken to hospital immediately but declared dead on arrival. Known to many people as "Harry," Mr. Soiman had lived in Whitehorse for many years, working as a carpenter.
He was 61 years old and is believed to have been born in Russia. It is also thought he is survived by a daughter somewhere in Russia, but police to date have been unable to locate any next-of-kin. Funeral services have not yet been arranged.
The Whitehorse Star - Thursday, October 27, 1960
Ilarion Peter Soiman - sometimes known as "Garlic Harry" - died here last week. The sixty-one-year-old carpenter was a familiar figure to those who have lived any
length of time in the commyunity. Perhaps he rated as one of this city’s "characters". Mild and inoffensive, Harry has only one survivor, a daughter whose whereabouts is uncertain. Beyond the fact that he was born in Russia, very little is known about his life or about the path that brought him to the Yukon.
Anonymity is a characteristic of this country. Many northern residents who play some distinctive, though perhaps minor, role in community life, who appear to be recognized by most and to be familiar with many are, in reality, scarcely known at all. The death of such a person as Ilarion Soiman reminds us of the cloak of mystery that surrounds the past of so many of our daily associates in this small community. It is not a sinister silence that blankets their trail. It is just the calm acceptance in the North of a minimum of details.
