William Turnbull
Section 42, Lot 91
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
When the snow finally stopped falling in Toronto on Tuesday, December 12, 1944, a new weather record had been set for the greatest fall of snow in a 24-hour period. More than 52 cm (20.5 in.) of the white stuff clogged city streets and, while traffic was much less due to wartime gas and tire rationing, citizens were nevertheless greatly inconvenienced. The distribution of milk and bread was done through local fire halls, while coal dealers asked their customers to clear a path from the street to the coal chute so that deliveries could be made. If the path wasn’t cleared there would be no coal delivery. It was that simple. Buried here is William Turnbull of Coleridge Avenue in East York Township, one of more than a dozen citizens to succumb to heart attacks while shovelling the heavy snow. The chief coroner issued an appeal to everyone over the age of 30 to stop shovelling and stay at home.
Mike Filey
Mount Pleasant Cemetery: An Illustrated Guide
Second Edition Revised and Expanded