Willard Garfield Weston
Plot 5, Lot 2
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
Garfield Weston was born in Toronto in 1898 and educated at Harbord Collegiate. In 1917, he joined the army and spent two years overseas. Upon his return, he joined the family company and worked in every department so that when he assumed the presidency of the company he knew the biscuit and cake business thoroughly. He was so successful that within a year of taking over the business, following the death of his father George (Plot 19, Lot 27), sales had tripled.
In 1933, Weston moved to England where there were more than 100 biscuit makers. Within ten years, Weston’s was the biggest in the country. Weston branched out and bought the E. B. Eddy Company, the William Neilson Company, the late Theodore Pringle Loblaw’s supermarket empire, and several other interests. In addition to his business dealings, Weston was a philanthropist donating millions to various charities including $1 million to the Banting and Best department of medical research at the University of Toronto. During the Second World War, he wrote a cheque for $400,000 to cover the cost of sixteen Spitfire aircraft shot down in a recent air raid. Weston also served as a British member of parliament.
For a time Weston owned the former residence of steel magnate Frank Wood on Bayview Avenue. Weston sold the property in 1967 to the owners of a private learning institute and now Crescent School occupies the house. Garfield Weston died on October 22, 1978 at the age of 80 while visiting his hometown. His grandson son Galen, jr. now manages the Weston empire.
Mike Filey
Mount Pleasant Cemetery: An Illustrated Guide
Second Edition Revised and Expanded