Park Lawn Cemetery is a large

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

in the

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

district of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. It currently has around 22,000 graves. It is managed by the Park Lawn Limited Partnership, which also runs five other cemeteries in Toronto. The cemetery offers ground burials and a mausoleum for above-ground interment and cremation urns. It is located south of

Bloor Street Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkw ...

, west of the Humber River. Park Lawn Cemetery & Mausoleum opened in 1892 as Humbervale Cemetery and was owned by local farmers in the area. It was sold in 1912 and again in 1915 to Park Lawn Cemetery Company, and was renamed to the current name. In 1999, Park Lawn opened Paradise Mausoleum; phase two of Paradise Mausoleum was completed in 2007. Controversy arose in 1995 when the company re-zoned a section of the cemetery to permit construction of a condominium building. While the building was strongly opposed by some who had purchased lots, or had residents buried there, the

Ontario Municipal Board The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) was an independent administrative board, operated as an adjudicative tribunal, in the province of Ontario, Canada. It heard applications and appeals on municipal and planning disputes, as well as other matters sp ...

approved the project. The cemetery has twice been attacked by vandals, once in 1990 and again in 2006. Both times several youths were convicted of damaging or toppling several hundred stones.

Notable interments

The cemetery contains 96 war graves of Commonwealth service personnel, 19 from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and 67 from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.
CWGC Cemetery Report. Breakdown obtained from casualty record.

Athletes

Harold Ballard Harold Edwin Ballard (born Edwin Harold Ballard, July 30, 1903 – April 11, 1990) was a Canadian businessman and sportsman. Ballard was an owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) as well as their home arena, Maple ...

- minor league hockey coach, manager,

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) owner

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Glen Brydson Glenn Warren "Swampy" Brydson (November 7, 1910 — December 9, 1993) was a Canadian ice hockey right winger who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Maroons, St. Louis Eagles, New York Rangers and Chicago Blac ...

- NHL player * Lou Cavalaris Jr. -

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The H ...

trainer *

Busher Jackson Ralph Harvey Jackson (January 17, 1911June 25, 1966) was a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey player. Jackson played 15 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons between 1929 and 1944 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Americans, and Bo ...

- NHL player *

Butch Keeling Melville Sydney "Butch" Keeling (August 10, 1905 – November 12, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. A left winger, he played 12 National Hockey League seasons with the Toronto St. Patricks/Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Ra ...

- NHL player, minor league coach, NHL referee * Andy Kyle - former

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

outfielder, minor league baseball player, hockey player with the

National Hockey Association The National Hockey Association (NHA), officially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey Lea ...

(NHA)

Toronto Blueshirts The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts, was a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They were a member of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The club was founded in 1911 and began operations in 1912 ...

, golf player * Jack Marks - NHL and minor league hockey player *

Lou Marsh Lewis Edwin Marsh (February 17, 1879 – March 4, 1936) was a Canadian athlete and referee, and one of the pioneers of sports journalism in Canada, working at the ''Toronto Star'' for 43 years. Life and career Marsh was born in Campbellford, On ...

- sprinter,

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

football player, Canadian military officer, NHL referee, ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' sports editor *

Alex Romeril Alexander Edward "Porky" Romeril (December 29, 1893 – May 17, 1968) was a Canadian amateur ice hockey player, football player, National Hockey League referee, and the first coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Career Romeril played junior hockey w ...

- minor league and NHA player, NHL referee,

head coach *

Conn Smythe Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe, MC (; February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National ...

- ice hockey player and coach, owner of the NHL

* Doris and Freeman Coone - among the founding members of Kingsway Baptist Church / Mission Circle & Deacon

Politicians

Fergy Brown James Fergus Brown (31 October 1923 – 3 April 2013) was a politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He served as Mayor of York from 1988 to 1994. Background Brown was born in Scotland, and moved to the neighbourhood of Mount Dennis in York, To ...

- Metro Toronto Councillor, city councillor mayor of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

Toronto.com
/ref> * John MacBeth -

Ontario PC The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada ...

MPP (

York West York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

and

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between th ...

) and provincial cabinet minister *

Rob Ford Robert Bruce Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etobi ...

- Toronto City Councillor and Mayor of

* Doug Ford Sr. - Toronto MPP and father of former Toronto Mayor/City Councillor Rob Ford and

Premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly of On ...

and former Toronto City Councillor

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He ...

Musicians

Jeff Healey Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz singer, guitarist, and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " Ang ...

- jazz and blues musician

Businesspersons

George Harding Cuthbertson George Harding Cuthbertson (1929-2017) was a founding partner of Cuthbertson & Cassian yacht designers, one of four companies that in 1969 formed C&C Yachts, a Canadian yacht builder that dominated North American sailing in the 1970s and early ...

- yacht designer, founding partner of Cuthbertson & Cassian Designs and

C&C Yachts C&C Yachts was a builder of high-performance fiberglass monohull sailboats with production facilities in Canada, Germany, and the United States. C&C designed and constructed a full range of production line cruiser-racer boats, as well as custom ...

, president of C&C Yachts for 8 years * Sir

Henry Pellatt Major-General Sir Henry Mill Pellatt, CVO (January 6, 1859 – March 8, 1939) was a Canadian financier and soldier. He is notable for his role in bringing hydro-electricity to Toronto for the first time, and also for his large château in Toron ...

- financier, soldier and builder of

Casa Loma Casa Loma (improper Spanish for "Hill House") is a Gothic Revival castle-style mansion and garden in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that is now a historic house museum and landmark. It was constructed from 1911 to 1914 as a residence for fina ...

(Forest Lawn)

Others

Gordon Sinclair Allan Gordon Sinclair, OC, FRGS (June 3, 1900 – May 17, 1984) was a Canadian journalist, writer and commentator. Early life Sinclair was born in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, the son of George Alexander and Bessie Gol ...

- journalist with CBC and

and for

CFRB CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West. CFRB is a clea ...

1010 radio''Toronto Sun''
/ref> * Stanley Frolick - lawyer, Ukrainian Canadian activistUkrainians in the United Kingdom
/ref>

Mass grave

The cemetery contains a mass grave containing the remains of 75 "Home Children" from Britain.
Dozens of ‘British home children’ lie forgotten in Etobicoke cemetery. Feb. 27, 2016

Other cemetery locations

Five other cemeteries affiliated with Park Lawn are located in or near Toronto: * Forest Lawn - established in 1911 (crematorium in 1980) and located on the west side of Yonge Street, north of Highway 401 in

North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...

* Hillcrest - established in 1916 and located at Islington Avenue and Highway 7 in

Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of ** Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...

* Riverside - established in 1892 and located at Royal York Road and Lawrence Avenue West in Etobicoke * Sanctuary Park - established in 1927 and located at Royal York Road and The Westway (across from Riverside) in Etobicoke * Westminster - established in 1926 and located at Bathurst Street north of Finch Avenue West in

, next to the Jewish burial grounds Beth Tzedec Memorial Park and overlooking the G. Lord Ross Reservoir.

References

{{Authority control Cemeteries in Toronto Etobicoke 1892 establishments in Ontario Cemetery vandalism and desecration