St. Luke’s Anglican Church is hosting a second open house on Saturday, June 22. Their first open house in May got rained out, so they’ve decided to invite everyone to come by again now that the sun is shining. The community is welcome to stop by any time between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to take a self-directed tour of the cemetery or to help clean up.
READ: St. Luke Cedar Hill Anglican Church hosts open house, spring cemetery clean up
Pam Gaudio will also be giving a guided tour of the cemetery at 10:00 a.m. that day. She will recount the history of St. Luke’s and will highlight some of the interesting people who have been laid to rest at the cemetery. Gaudio definitely knows her way around St. Luke’s. She co-wrote the St. Luke’s Cemetery book, Gone But Not Forgotten: A History of St. Luke’s Churchyard, with Bev Ellison in 2009. The book includes brief biographies for 194 of the people buried in the cemetery.
READ: Heritage funds support St. Luke’s paint job
One of St. Luke’s cemetery’s unique stories has recently found it’s conclusion. James Stewart Simpson, a World War one veteran. Simpson passed away in 1926 from injuries he sustained in the war. He was buried in the family grave with no marker. Thanks to Gord Young — a gentleman from Peterborough, ON who was looking into the Stewart family history — the verteran now has a proper military monument to mark his grave. Young initiated an application with the Last Post Fund to procure the marker. Their website states that their mission is to ensure that all veterans recieve a dignified burial.
Organizers at St. Luke’s say they are looking forward to seeing those with connections to the cemetery and are hoping to see some new faces on June 22 too.
devon.bidal@saanichnews.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
