Members of Manitoba's music, culinary and social justice movements are remembering a long-time activist and friend who died on Friday.

Harry Paine, 83, died at the Grace Hospice in Winnipeg after battling pancreatic cancer, said NDP MLA Rob Altemeyer.

"Harry was involved in so many different causes. I think that's one of the things that really stands out, just how many different communities knew him, loved him and respected the work he did," Altemeyer said.

Paine spent his childhood in England and moved to Toronto as a young man.

In November, Altemeyer recognized his friend's achievements in the Manitoba Legislature, telling a story about how Paine contributed to the civil rights movement in the United States.

"Harry actually sat right next to … Martin Luther King Jr. at organizing meetings that led up to the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama," Altemeyer said at the time.

It was a love of food and folk music that brought Paine to Manitoba in the 1970s where he established the backstage kitchen for the Winnipeg Folk Festival, which was lovingly called Harry's Eats for many years.

On Facebook, the Winnipeg Folk Festival said "we have lost a great founding friend of the festival."

"We send all our love to those of you who were part of the 'revolution' alongside Harry, and were lucky enough to count him as a friend."

He was a friend. He was a mentor in life as well as in politics. - NDP MLA Rob Altemeyer

Paine's work went far beyond the kitchen. He was a long-time member of the Wolseley NDP executive, which is where Altemeyer met him. Paine even volunteered in the most recent provincial election.

He was also on the board of several Neighbourhood Renewal Corporations and was a well-known seniors' advocate. His work brought him several accolades including the Lieutenant Governor's Make a Difference Community Award, but Altemeyer said Paine was always humble.

"This is a guy who did so much in his life. I'm sure that I don't even know a tiny fraction of all of the struggles that he undertook and the sacrifices that he made. But he was a guy who was incredibly modest and incredibly passionate in his dedication to social justice," Altemeyer said.

Altemeyer and many other friends visited Paine before his death on Friday evening.

"He was a friend. He was a mentor in life as well as in politics," Altemeyer said.

"He had so much to offer and so much wisdom to share."