Park Lawn Cemetery
Park Lawn Cemetery is a large cemetery in the Etobicoke district of Toronto, Ontario, 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, west of the Humber River.
Park Lawn Cemetery | |
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![]() Northwest entrance to Park Lawn Cemetery. | |
Details | |
Established | 1892 |
Location | |
Coordinates | 43.647094°N 79.500954°W |
Type | Public |
Style | Non-denominational |
Owned by | Park Lawn LP |
No. of graves | 49,000 |
Website | www |
Find a Grave | Park Lawn Cemetery |
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.[1] 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 approved the project. The cemetery has twice been attacked by vandals, once in 1990[2] 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 and 67 from World War II.[3]
Athletes
- Harold Ballard – minor league hockey coach, manager, National Hockey League (NHL) owner Toronto Maple Leafs[4]
- Glen Brydson – NHL player[5]
- Lou Cavalaris Jr. – Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame trainer[6]
- Hans Fogh – Olympic sailor for Denmark and Canada
- Busher Jackson – NHL player[4]
- Butch Keeling – NHL player, minor league coach, NHL referee[6]
- Andy Kyle – former Cincinnati Reds outfielder, minor league baseball player, hockey player with the National Hockey Association (NHA) Toronto Blueshirts, golf player[4]
- Jack Marks – NHL and minor league hockey player
- Lou Marsh – sprinter, Toronto Argonauts football player, Canadian military officer, NHL referee, Toronto Star sports editor[4]
- Eugene Melnyk – businessman, owner of the Ottawa Senators
- Alex Romeril – minor league and NHA player, NHL referee, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach[7]
- Conn Smythe – ice hockey player and coach, owner of the NHL Toronto Maple Leafs[4]
- Faye Urban – tennis player
- Doris and Freeman Coone – among the founding members of Kingsway Baptist Church / Mission Circle & Deacon
Politicians
- Fergy Brown – Metro Toronto Councillor, city councillor mayor of York, Ontario[6]
- John MacBeth – Ontario PC MPP (York West and Humber) and provincial cabinet minister[4]
Musicians
- Jeff Healey – jazz and blues musician[4]
Businesspersons
- George Harding Cuthbertson – yacht designer, founding partner of Cuthbertson & Cassian Designs and C&C Yachts, president of C&C Yachts for 8 years
- Sir Henry Pellatt – financier, soldier and builder of Casa Loma (Forest Lawn)[8]
Others
- Gordon Sinclair – journalist with CBC and Toronto Star and for CFRB 1010 radio[4]
- Stanley Frolick – lawyer, Ukrainian Canadian activist[9]
- Adolfas Šapoka – prominent Lithuanian historian and writer
Mass grave
The cemetery contains a mass grave containing the remains of 75 "Home Children" from Britain.[10][6]
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 Lansing, North York
- Hillcrest – established in 1916 and located at Islington Avenue and Highway 7 in Woodbridge
- Riverside – established in 1892 and located at Royal York Road and Lawrence Avenue West in Humber Heights-Westmount, Etobicoke
- Sanctuary Park – established in 1927 and located at Royal York Road and The Westway (across from Riverside) in Humber Heights-Westmount, Etobicoke
- Westminster – established in 1926 and located at Bathurst Street north of Finch Avenue West in Westminster-Branson, North York, next to the Jewish burial grounds Beth Tzedec Memorial Park and overlooking the G. Lord Ross Reservoir.
References

- Bradburn, Jamie. "Toronto Cemetery Sojourns: Park Lawn Cemetery | cityscape". Torontoist. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
- "Teen jailed in cemetery vandalism" Cal Millar. Toronto Star. Jul 17, 1990. pg. A.7
- CWGC Cemetery Report. Breakdown obtained from casualty record.
- Toronto Sun
- Park Lawn: Glen Brydson
- Toronto.com
- Park Lawn: Alex Romeril
- Park Lawn: Sir Henry Pellatt
- Ukrainians in the United Kingdom
- Dozens of ‘British home children’ lie forgotten in Etobicoke cemetery. Feb. 27, 2016