Tombstone Tuesday: Murray Grozelle

Murray Grozelle is my maternal fourth cousin two times removed. Our common ancestors are Joseph Prosper Desgroseilliers (1743-1795/1800) and his wife Charlotte Nunegand dite Beaurosier (1754-1835).

The sixth child of Gilbert and Mary (O’Connor) Grozelle, Murray was born on 20 April 1923 in Esther, Alberta. [1] He had five older siblings: Ruth, Carmen, Thelma, Sylvia and Melvin.

Murray died on 30 August 1981 in Cottonwoods Extended Care at Kelowna General Hospital in Kelowna, British Columbia. [2] He was buried on 1 September 1981 in Kelowna Memorial Park Cemetery in Kelowna. [3]

His gravemarker reads:

In Memory Of

Murray R.J. Grozelle

1923 – 1981

Murray’s father and mother predeceased him in 1953 and in 1971, respectively. Murray shares his mother Mary’s plot.

Graves of Gilbert (left), Mary (right), and Murray (lower right)

My husband and I took these photographs during our recent visit to Kelowna, when we attended the Kelowna & District Genealogical Society’s conference in September 2016.

Sources:

1. “Genealogy – General Search”, digital images, BC Archives (http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy : accessed 6 July 2016), entry for Murray Randolph Joseph Grozelle (written as Murray Randolph Joseph Grozelle, indexed as Murray R J Grozelle), 30 August 1981, death registration no. 1981-09-014247.

2. “Genealogy – General Search”, digital images, BC Archives (http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy : accessed 6 July 2016), entry for Murray Randolph Joseph Grozelle, 30 August 1981.

3. “Genealogy – General Search”, digital images, BC Archives (http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy : accessed 6 July 2016), entry for Murray Randolph Joseph Grozelle, 30 August 1981. Also, Memorial Park Cemetery, City of Kelowna, database (http://www.kelowna.ca/CM/Page270.aspx : accessed 21 September 2016), entry for Murray R.J. Grozelle, death 30 August 1981, plot B 6 62 81.

Copyright © 2016, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Mary (O’Connor) Grozelle

Mary Grozelle was the wife of Gilbert Grozelle, a distant maternal cousin of mine. Daughter of James and Catherine (McNearney) O’Connor, Mary was born on 17 October 1885 in Victoria Road, Victoria County, Ontario. [1]

Mary and Gilbert married in 1905 and had six children: Ruth, Carmen, Thelma, Sylvia, Melvin and Murray. Mary died on 15 November 1971 in Kelowna, British Columbia. [2]

Her gravemarker reads:

Mary R. Grozelle

In Loving Memory

1885 – 1971

Gilbert died in 1953. He and Mary are interred next to each other in Memorial Park Cemetery, Kelowna, while son Murray shares his mother’s plot. [3]

Graves of Gilbert (left), Mary (right), and Murray (lower right)

My husband and I took these photographs during our visit to Kelowna, when we attended the Kelowna & District Genealogical Society’s conference in September 2016.

Sources:

1. “Genealogy – General Search”, digital images, BC Archives (http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy : accessed 28 September 2016), entry for Thelma Mary Grittner [sic], 19 January 1959, death registration no. 1959-09-001632. Thelma’s mother Mary (O’Connor) Grozelle was the informant.

2. “Genealogy – General Search”, digital images, BC Archives (http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy : accessed 6 July 2016), entry for Mary Beatrice Grozelle, 15 November 1971, death registration no. 1971-09-016099.

3. Memorial Park Cemetery, City of Kelowna, database (http://www.kelowna.ca/CM/Page270.aspx : accessed 21 September 2016), entry for Mary Beatrice Grozelle [sic], death 18 November 1971, plot B 6 62 81.

Copyright © 2016, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Gilbert Grozelle

Gilbert Grozelle is my maternal third cousin three times removed. We descend from Joseph Prosper Desgroseilliers by his wife Charlotte Nunegand dite Beaurosier: Gilbert through eldest son Ambroise (b. 1774) and me through younger son François (b. 1783).

The fourth child of Alphonse Grozelle (né Desgroseilliers) and Annie McAlpine, Gilbert was born on 20 May 1884 in Bexley Township, Victoria County, Ontario. [1] He had nine brothers and sisters: Jennie, Peter, Charles, William, Joseph, Mary, Mabel, John, and Archibald.

A labourer, then farmer, Gilbert married Mary O’Connor on 2 June 1905. [2] Daughters Ruth and Carmen were born in Ontario before the family moved west to the prairie province of Saskatchewan in about 1910. The family moved once more, to Alberta, about 1912. Four more children (Thelma, Sylvia, Melvin, and Murray) were born between 1915 and 1923.

About 1945, Gilbert and Mary relocated to British Columbia. Gilbert, who had suffered from chronic coronary sclerosis for five years, died on 12 June 1953 in Kelowna, British Columbia. [3] He was buried four days later in Kelowna Memorial Park Cemetery in Kelowna. [4]

Gravemarker of Gilbert Grozelle

His gravemarker reads:

Grozelle Gilbert

In Loving Memory

1884 – 1953

Gilbert and Mary, who died in 1971, are interred next to each other. Their son Murray, who died in 1981, shares his mother’s plot.

Graves of Gilbert (left), Mary (right) and Murray (right, bottom), foregound

My husband and I took these photographs during our recent visit to Kelowna, when we attended the Kelowna & District Genealogical Society’s conference in September 2016.

Entrance to Memorial Park Cemetery, Kelowna, BC

Sources:

1. “Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928”, digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 3 September 2015), entry for Gilbert E. Groselle – Mary O’Connor, 2 June 1905; citing Archives of Ontario, Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928, 1933-1934; Toronto, Ontario Canada: Archives of Ontario; microfilm series MS932, reel 119. 1901 census of Canada, Township Dalton, Victoria (North), Ontario, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 119, subdistrict D-1, p. 5, dwelling 33, family 33, Gillbert Grozelle [sic]; digital image, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 30 September 2016); citing Census of Canada, 1901, microfilm reels T-6428 to T-6556, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Library and Archives Canada, 2004.

2. “Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928”, digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 3 September 2015), entry for Gilbert E. Groselle – Mary O’Connor, 2 June 1905.

3. “Genealogy – General Search”, digital images, BC Archives (http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy : accessed 6 July 2016), entry for Gilbert Eric Grozelle, 12 June 1953, death registration no. 1953-09-006570.

4. Memorial Park Cemetery, City of Kelowna, database (http://www.kelowna.ca/CM/Page270.aspx : accessed 21 September 2016), entry for Gilbert Eric Grozelle, death 12 June 1953, plot B 6 62 82.

Copyright © 2016, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Fred Demosky

Fred was my husband’s paternal uncle; his obituary can be read here.

Michael photographed his uncle’s tombstone during our visit to Grand Forks in June 2015.

Born on 16 September 1909 in the Canadian prairie province of Saskatchewan, Fred died on 14 April 1988 at home in Oliver, British Columbia. He was laid to rest in Evergreen Cemetery in Grand Forks, British Columbia.

Fred’s gravemarker reads:

In Loving Memory

Fredrick W.

Demosky

1909 – 1988

Copyright © 2016, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: William Guy Holden

William Guy Holden, known as William, was born on 2 June 1893 in North Bay, Ontario. Son of Anastasia Holden, he was recruited during World War I in 1917.

William married Cora Gagnon, a first cousin of my grandmother Julie (Vanasse) Belair, on 26 February 1927 in Ottawa, Ontario. (I wrote about Cora’s burial last month in Tombstone Tuesday: Cora Holden.) Later, William and Cora moved north to Timmins, where he worked as a miner.

William died in 1968. He was interred next to his wife in Whitney Cemetery, Porcupine, near Timmins. My husband photographed their gravemarkers during our visit to my old hometown in May 2014.

William’s gravemarker reads:

WILLIAM 

Beloved Husband of Cora 

1893 – 1968 

Rest in Peace

Copyright © 2015, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Cora Holden

Cora was a younger daughter of François and Julia (Vanasse) Gagnon. She was born on 19 December 1902 in Chapeau (or Chichester), Quebec. She and my paternal grandmother, Julie (Vanasse) Belair, were first cousins.

Like her sisters Mary and Albertine, Cora left their home village in the 1920s to seek work in Ottawa, Canada’s capital. (I’ve written about Albertine and Cora in Sibling Saturday: Albertine and Cora Gagnon.) Here, she married William Guy Holden in February 1927. They couple eventually moved to Timmins in northern Ontario, where Cora’s cousin Julie lived.

Cora died in 1973 and was interred next to her husband William in Whitney Cemetery, Porcupine, near Timmins. My husband photographed their gravemarkers during our visit to my old hometown in May 2014.

Cora’s gravemarker reads:

CORA 

Beloved Wife of William 

1902 – 1973 

Rest in Peace

Copyright © 2015, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: William Demoskoff

William Demoskoff gravemarker

This past Saturday, June 13, we interred my late father-in-law’s ashes. Pop died earlier this year in January (William Demoskoff (1914-2015)), but we decided to wait until better weather for the committal service.

My husband, his only sister, her husband, their elder son, his wife, and myself gathered for a simple, private graveside ceremony in Grand Forks, British Columbia, on what would have been Pop’s 101st birthday.

We arrived at the Doukhobor cemetery on a bright Saturday morning. USCC (Sion) Cemetery caretakers Walter Hoodikoff and Larry Jmaiff had prepared the site. They also led the committal service that included traditional Russian greetings, recitations and prayers. The ceremony lasted about half an hour.

We replaced the old headstone with a new one that included both names of my parents-in-law.

Bill and Ann’s gravemarker reads:

Copyright © 2015, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Luchenia Demoskoff

Luchenia Demoskoff gravemarker

Luchenia was my husband’s paternal grandmother. I recently wrote a brief article about her; it’s available here.

Fifty-four years ago, Luchenia died in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on 28 April 1960; she was 74 years old. She was laid to rest next to her husband in Tolstoy Doukhobor Cemetery, north of Veregin, Saskatchewan, on 4 May 1960.

Luchenia’s Christian name “Lukeria” is a variation of Luchenia. As for her married surname, it was “Demosky”. I believe her sons George and William (who changed their surname to Demoskoff in 1940) were responsible for modifying their mother’s name when a marker was chosen for her. They were probably also responsible for changing their father’s surname on his gravemarker, which I’ve written about here.

Luchenia’s gravemarker reads:

DEMOSKOFF

IN LOVING MEMORY OF

LUKERIA N.

1885 – 1960

SWEET BE THY REST

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Mable Sofonoff

Gravemarker of Mable (Demosky) Sofonoff

Mable Sofonoff (née Demosky) was my husband’s paternal aunt. Her obituary can be read here.

MabIe was born about 1904 – 1906 (the year of birth on her grave is presumably incorrect) in Khristianovka, a now-abandoned village near Buchanan, Saskatchewan. Her parents Wasyl and Luchenia (Tomelin) Demosky, Doukhobor immigrants, settled there after they married about 1903.

Mable, the eldest of five children and the only daughter, married in 1938. She and her husband Louis Sofonoff had one son, Harvey, before they moved to Alberta.

After her funeral in the Russian prayer home in Veregin, Saskatchewan, Mable was laid to rest in Tolstoy Cemetery, a few miles north of the town.

Her gravemarker reads:

In Fond Memory Of

Mable Sofonoff

1909 – 1968

Beloved Wife Of Louis Sofonoff

Source:

Mable (Demosky) Sofonoff photograph, ca 2001; original image, privately held by Yvonne (Belair) Demoskoff, British Columbia, 2014. About 2001, someone (possibly Jonathan Kalmakoff of the Doukhobor Genealogy Website) gave the original photograph to William (Bill) Demoskoff, who asked him for photos of tombstones of interest on his behalf. Later, Yvonne received an assortment of family memorabilia (including Mable’s gravemarker photograph) in January 2012 from her father-in-law Bill.

Copyright © 2104, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Philip Casacove

Gravemarker of Philip Casacove

Philip Casacove (né Cazakoff) was my husband’s maternal uncle. His obituary can be read here.

The third, but second surviving son of George and Polly (Poznekoff) Cazakoff, Philip was born in July 1911 in Simeonovka (aka Semenovo), a Doukhobor village near Arran, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Philip legally changed his name to ‘Philip Gordon Casacove’ in July 1948. A few weeks earlier in June, he married Mary Abrosimoff in Vancouver, British Columbia. The couple had two daughters, Donna and Elizabeth.

Philip died thirty-seven years ago on 16 December 1976. He was buried four days later at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Burnaby, British Columbia. His wife Mary, who died in 2002, is interred beside him.

His gravemarker reads:

IN LOVING MEMORY

PHILIP G. CASACOVE

1911 – 1976

Copyright © 2013, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Mary Casacove

Mary Casacove gravemarker

Mary was the wife of Philip Casacove (né Cazakoff), my husband’s maternal uncle.

Mary, daughter of George and Annie (Bedinoff) Abrosimoff, was born in 1918 in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. She and Philip married in June 1948 in Vancouver, British Columbia and had two daughters, Donna and Elizabeth.

Mary died eleven years ago today on 1 October 2002. She was buried next to her husband Philip, who predeceased her in 1976, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Her gravemarker reads:

IN LOVING MEMORY

MARY CASACOVE

1918 – 2002

Copyright © 2013, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Joseph Beauvais

Gravemarker of Joseph Beauvais and members of his family

My maternal great-grandfather Joseph Beauvais passed away 76 years ago today on 17 September 1937. He was 59 years old; cause of death was chronic endocarditis.¹ Joseph died in the village of Moonbeam, Cochrane District, Ontario, where he and his family moved to in the mid-1920s. He was buried there two days later.

Mom’s only memory of her grandfather Joseph is of attending his funeral. She remembers how her father Eugène picked her up so that she could see her grandfather in his coffin. At four years old, the experience scared her and she never forgot it.

Although I visited Moonbeam a couple of times in the 1970s when I lived in Ontario, I never thought of stopping by the cemetery. I was fortunate to find a photograph of his tombstone online.²

Joseph’s name and that of his wife Olivine and two of their children (Marie-Louise and Aldège) are inscribed on the marker.

The gravemarker reads:

BEAUVAIS

Epoux / JOSEPH BEAUVAIS / 1878 – 1937

Epouse / OLIVINE NEE HOTTE / 1879 – 1926

Fils / ALDEGE / 1905 – 1940

Fille / MARIE-LOUISE / 1903 – 1947

Sources:

1. “Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938 and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947”, database and digital images, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : 9 February 2012), entry for Joseph Beauvais, 17 September 1937.

2. Moonbeam Cemetery, database and digital images (http://cimetiere.moonbeam.ca/indexEn.html : accessed 12 September 2013), photograph, gravestone for Joseph Beauvais (1878-1937), Moonbeam, Ontario. Used with permission.

Copyright © 2013, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Wasyl Demosky

Wasyl Demosky gravemarker

Wasyl Demosky was my husband’s paternal grandfather. He died on 12 September 1933, eighty years ago this Thursday. He was buried two days later in Tolstoy Doukhobor Cemetery, just north of Veregin, Saskatchewan. I wrote a brief article about him last year.

Although Wasyl’s surname is spelled “Demoskoff” on his grave, his name was Demosky. I suspect that his younger sons George and William (who changed their name from Demosky to Demoskoff in 1940) were the ones who modified their father’s name when a marker was chosen.

Wasyl’s gravemarker reads:

DEMOSKOFF

IN LOVING MEMORY OF

WASYL M.

1883 – 1933

AT REST

Copyright © 2013, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: George Demoskoff

George Demoskoff gravemarker


This past Sunday, I posted my husband’s uncle George’s obituary. Today, I follow up that post with a scanned image of his gravemarker. George is interred in the U.S.C.C. Doukhobor Cemetery in Grand Forks, British Columbia.

George’s gravemarker reads:

LOVING HUSBAND [&] FATHER

GEORGE W. DEMOSKOFF

1911 – 1980

HE IS NOT DEAD BUT SLEEPETH

Copyright © 2013, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Maurice Belair

Two days ago on Sunday, I posted my father Maurice Belair’s obituary. Today, I follow up that post with a scanned image of his gravemarker. Dad is interred in Our Lady of Good Hope Roman Catholic Cemetery in Hope, British Columbia.


Maurice Belair gravemarker

 Dad's gravemarker reads:

BELAIR

Maurice Belair

1927 – 1996

Safe In The Arms of Jesus

Copyright © 2013, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Clara Strukoff

Two days ago on Sunday, I posted Clara's obituary. Today, I’m following up that post with a scanned image of her gravemarker. Clara is interred in the U.S.C.C. Doukhobor Cemetery in Grand Forks, British Columbia.


Clara Strukoff gravemarker.


Clara's gravemarker reads:

IN LOVING MEMORY OF

CLARA R STRUKOFF

1955 – 1981

BUDDED ON EARTH TO BLOOM IN HEAVEN

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Fred and Julie Belair

Fred and Julie Belair gravemarker.

My paternal grandparents, Fred and Julie (Vanasse) Belair, rest in Timmins Memorial Cemetery in Timmins, Ontario, Canada. Fred was the fifth, but third surviving son of Pierre and Angélina (Meunier) Belair. Julie was the fifth child and third daughter of Olivier and Elisabeth (Vanasse) Vanasse. Fred and Julie married in October 1926 in Ottawa, Ontario. (You can read about their marriage at Sentimental Sunday: Fred and Julie Belair.) My grandmother passed away in March 1967 in Timmins. My grandfather, who survived her by nearly 24 years, died in January 1991 in Peterborough, Ontario.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Thomas Vanasse



Thomas Vanasse gravemarker.



Thomas was a first cousin of my paternal grandmother Julie (Vanasse) Belair. He was born on 22 December 1905 in Chichester, near Chapeau, Quebec as the 13th child and youngest son of Michel and Célestine (Ranger) Vanasse. (Note that Thomas' year of birth is incorrectly shown on his gravemarker.)

Thomas died on 5 December 1983 at Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam, British Columbia. The Public Guardian and Trustee of B.C. took charge of the funeral and burial arrangements. (His patient file didn’t indicate any next of kin, and his death registration wasn’t registered by a family member.) Thomas was buried in Vancouver's Mountain View Cemetery, which has scenic views of the North Shore Mountains.

It’s too bad that my family never met Thomas and that my father Maurice never knew he had a cousin living nearby in the city. This past August, my husband Michael and I were in Vancouver and we took the opportunity to visit Mountain View Cemetery. We located Thomas' grave situated in a pathway that lies between the plots running north to south. I was glad to see that the granite marker was in good condition. We took a few photos, said a prayer, and then continued with the rest of our day. 

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Tombstone Tuesday: Eugène and Juliette Desgroseilliers

Eugène and Juliette Desgroseilliers gravemarker.

My maternal grandparents, Eugène and Juliette (Beauvais) Desgroseilliers, rest in Our Lady of Mercy Roman Catholic Cemetery in Sarnia, Lambton County, Ontario. Eugene, the eldest of 14 children, was born in August 1900 in St Charles, Nipissing District, Ontario. Juliette was born in June 1901 in Chénéville, Papineau County, Quebec, the eldest daughter among 16 children. Eugène and Juliette married in Moonbeam, Cochrane District, Ontario in August 1925. My grandfather Eugène died in September 1960 in Sarnia, while my grandmother predeceased him in August 1948, also in Sarnia.

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff

Tombstone Tuesday: Ann Demoskoff

Ann Demoskoff (1926-1980)


My mother-in-law, Ann Demoskoff, was born at home on March 11, 1926 in Lily Vale District, Saskatchewan. She was the youngest child and only daughter of George W. Cazakoff and Polly J. Poznekoff, Doukhobor emigrants from Russia. Ann married William (Bill) Demoskoff at her parents' farm near Pelly, Saskatchewan on June 1, 1952. Ann died on July 27, 1980 in Grand Forks, British Columbia, where she and Bill moved to in the early 1970s. She is buried in the U.S.C.C. Doukhobor Cemetery in Grand Forks. 

Copyright © 2012, Yvonne Demoskoff.