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.
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.
