It’s often interesting to allow your mind and thoughts to expand and allow it to take you to places where you had never imagined.
This happened to me recently.
A few years ago, we went for a trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Like many American cities, you see many of the same street names and facilities named after presidents. Grand Rapids has the name Gerald Ford featured prominently and it’s not a surprise since he originates from there.
While we were in Grand Rapids, we visited the presidential library and museum where you’ll find his grave.
This opened a conversation about where country leaders are buried. It comes as no surprise that many of the recent US Presidents are buried in locations named for them, or military locations.
That took the conversation to Canada. Nobody in our discussion could remember a Prime Ministerial Library. Yes, we do have many streets and buildings named in their honour – but where are they buried? Could there be a national cemetery in Ottawa?
We were not surprised that a page on a Canadian government website holds the answer to all of the burial locations of our Prime Ministers who have passed. What was surprising was that they had been buried in community cemeteries. The page shows the gravestones for each.
Back to surprised, we found out that the Right Honourable John Diefenbaker was not buried in Southwestern Ontario in or near Neustadt.
Locations?
- Ontario – 7
- Quebec – 4
- Nova Scotia – 2
- Saskatchewan – 1
- Surrey, England – 1
doug --- off the record 