Filey - Mount Pleasant Cemetery: an illustrated guide

An Illustrated Guide
Second Edition Revised and Expanded

Mike Filey

Copyright Mike Filey 1999

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency.

Copyeditor: Erich Falkenberg

Proofreader: Carrie Withers

Design: Scott Reid

Printer: Transcontinental Printing Inc.

Cover photograph: Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries

Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data

Filey, Mike, 1941

Mount Pleasant Cemetery an illustrated guide

2nd ed. rev. & expanded

ISBN 1-55002-322-5

1. Mount Pleasant Cemetery (Toronto, Ont.) Guidebooks. 2. Toronto (Ont.) Biography. 3. Toronto (Ont.) Guidebooks. I. Title.

F1059.5.T6862M684 1999

1 2 3 4 5 03 02 01 00 99

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the support of the Ontario Arts Council and the Book Publishing Industry Development Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credit in subsequent editions.

Printed and bound in Canada.

Printed on recycled paper.

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by Judith Meeks
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mount Pleasant Group

Mount Pleasant Group is very proud of its heritage of serving the needs of the community for over 170 years. In particular, Mount Pleasant Cemetery (operated by Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries), which was opened in 1876, has been an integral part of our organization, the city, and the neighbouring community.

All of us view the history of our city from different perspectives. In this book, Mike Filey presents a view of Mount Pleasant Cemetery as a microcosm of Torontos rich heritage. He colourfully describes the history of Mount Pleasant Cemetery through the stories of those interred there; Heinz Mueller through the changing faces of the monuments; Jack Radecki through the trees; and Howard Clark through the eyes of someone who spent nearly half a century working within its grounds.

If you have visited Mount Pleasant or other cemeteries operated by Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries, you will know that they are among the finest in the world. Mount Pleasant appeals to many people for many different reasons. It is acknowledged to be a most beautiful commemorative facility, where families and individuals can choose from the widest choice of possibilities to pay tribute to a life lived. The tranquil beauty of the property is matched by the caring, compassionate service to families the foundation of Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries.

Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries was created through a special act of Upper Canada in 1826 to respond to the need for a burying ground for all, irrespective of religion or race. The first cemetery, Potters Field, was located at what is now the northwest corner of Bay and Bloor. The remains of those buried there were moved to our next two cemeteries Necropolis and Mount Pleasant when the city began to expand into the Bay/Bloor area. A plaque in each cemetery now commemorates the burial sites of those pioneers originally interred in that first non-profit, non-sectarian burying ground.

Today, Mount Pleasant Cemetery and Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries continue to deliver a variety of services that meet the changing nature of the community we serve. As we approach the new millennium, Mount Pleasant still has plots available, a testament to the forethought of the original trustees. Mount Pleasant reflects our tradition of offering innovative services serving as the site for Ontarios first cremation garden, a cemetery within a cemetery opened in 1998 and designed specifically to meet the needs of those who choose cremation.

While we continue to serve a large number of families when a death occurs, we also meet the needs of those who wish to plan in advance. Pre-Planning ensures that personal needs and desires are met. In addition, it reduces the uncertainty and stress associated with making such arrangements while grieving.

At Mount Pleasant Group we are proud of our guardianship of the history and beauty of Mount Pleasant Cemetery. We invite you to share in the wonder and enjoyment of the heritage it represents. Mike Fileys insightful and colourful narrative will guide you through the pages of Torontos history, which has been carefully preserved through the commemoration of life at Mount Pleasant.

In memory of my father Jack Filey, grandmother Martha Hatch (Section 51, Lot 89), and aunt Peggy Gray (Plot T, Lot 2439)

Authors Acknowledgements

Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries:

First Edition: Angie Aquino, Michela DeVita, Karen Ireland, Jack Radecki, Brenda Rodrigue, Bob Smith, Glen Timney, Eric Tappenden, and Louise Winton.

Revised and Expanded Edition: Tom Armstrong, Ed Bonnin, Gerson DaPonte, Mary Lou Gray, Tom Gennuso, John Huys, Anita Mazzara, David Plant, Wade Shreve, Lauri Van Buskirk, and Karin Weesbach.

Also, Julie Kirsch and her staff at the Toronto Sun Library, the staff of the City of Toronto Archives, Johanne Pelletier and Major Lorraine Luxford of the Salvation Army, Rennie Graham, Howard Clark, Pleasance Crawford, Sally Coutts, Heinz Mueller, James Worrall, Walter Fluke, Carol Bond, Al Navis, and Dorothy Dennison.

A special thank you to my wife Yarmila who continues to encourage and assist me with my work.

Note re Second Edition

The first edition of this book was published in 1990 and went out of print very quickly. Included in it were 206 stories. Soon after the book vanished from store shelves those who were unable to obtain a copy or those who had lent their personal copy to friends never to see it again began requesting a reprint. Thanks to Dundurn Press this eventually became possible. In the reprint I was able to include stories about people I had missed the first time around. Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a