Ottawa Cemetaries

The most famous eternal resting place in Ottawa is Beechwood Cemetery (280 Beechwood Ave., 741-9530). Established in 1873 as a Protestant counterpart to nearby Notre Dame cemetery, Beechwood is a National Historic Site, and only one of four cemeteries in the country to be designated as such. Have a look at the sections where veterans from the Northwest Rebellion (1885), World War II, and recent United Nations campaigns rest in peace. Also interred here are our eighth prime minister (and the handsome fellow on our $100 bill), Sir Robert Borden (1854-1937); the father of Canada’s Medicare system, Tommy Douglas (1904-1986); the inventor of standard time, Sir Sandford Fleming (1827-1915); Ottawa lumber baron J. R. Booth (1827-1925); the Saskatchewan poet John Newlove (1938-2003); and Confederation poet Archibald Lampman (1861-1899). Lampman even wrote a poem that suits this place:

Here the dead sleep, the quiet dead. No sound disturbs them ever, and no storm dismays.

Meanwhile, Pinecrest Cemetery (2500 Baseline Rd., 829-3600) is a veritable hockey hall of fame. Some notable skaters spending their eternal off-season here include: Boston Bruins’ left winger Arthur Gordon Bruce (1919-1997), former Bruins and Ottawa Senators players Harry Alexander Connor (1904-1947), Cyril Joseph “Cy” Denneny (1891-1970), one of the top-scoring left wings of his era (when he retired, he was the top goal getter in the history of the Ottawa Senators), and Senators players Erskine Rockcliffe Ronan (1889-1937), Gerald Edmund Shannon (1910-1983), Allan “Big Pete” Shields (1906-1975) (who won the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Maroons in 1934-5), and Alexander “Boots”
Smith (1902-1963).

The most prominent Catholic cemetery in the city is Notre Dame Cemetery (455 Montreal Rd.), the final resting place of hockey greats Alex Connell (1902-1958), Tommy Smith (1885?1966), and Aurel Joliat (1901-1986), as well as photographer Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002), World War I hero (awarded the Victoria Cross) Filip Konowal (1886-1959), statesman Louis-Felix Pinault (1852-1906), and Prime Minister Sir Wilfred Laurier (1841-1919), along with his wife Zoé.