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Saint Ansgar's Lutheran Church |
St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church - Montreal
History of the Danish Cemetery
Lakeview Memorial Garden.
The Danish Section.
History
The existence of "Lakeview Memorial Gardens. Danish Section" in Pointe Claire may be unknown to many Danish Canadians in the Montreal area.
During the early depression years, 1929 to 1934 many Danish Canadians living in Montreal were very poor and when they died there were no money for proper burial, which meant common and unmarked graves in paupers cemetery which was (is) located near the bottom of Cote des Neiges.
A situation like that did not sit well with Danes and on the initiative of The Danish Consulate in Montreal, two representatives from each of the two Danish Clubs in Montreal (Danish Canadian Society, Montreal and The Danish Club, Montreal plus St. Ansgar’s Danish Lutheran Church in Montreal and a representative from The Danish Consulate, got together in 1934 and they succeeded in raising $100 for which they bought 50 burial lots from Lakeview Cemetery in Pointe Claire, this assured that Danish Canadians in Montreal with insufficient means could be properly buried when they passed on. Pastor Vilhelm Beck, Elman (Nick) Christensen and Cyrus Petersen were some of the people forming the first committee. After having bought and paid for the first 50 lots Pastor Beck remarked that he was glad he no longer would be asked to bury Danes in a pauper’s grave.
In time many Danish Canadians chose to purchase a burial lot from the committee and thus the “Danish Section” evolved to become the chosen burial place for Danish Canadians of all income levels and not only reserved for burial lots for poor Danish Canadians.
Around 1954 an additional 50 lots were purchased for a total of 100 lots. The purchase price of these lots is unknown.
Around 1967 the committee of representatives from the Danish clubs and St. Ansgar’s Church was abandoned and the administration of the Danish Section was left to St. Ansgar’s Church only.
Today (October 2007) all 100 lots are occupied or reserved. The lots are small, only 2 ½ feet wide and 7 feet long.
In the late 1980s 25 lots were reserved to be part of the Danish Section. These lots were wider (3 feet).
The last 25 lots are owned by Lakeview Cemetery and can be purchased from them. There are 10 lots still available.
When Elman (Nick) Christensen passed away in 1988, his widow, Maren Elman Christensen made major improvements to the Danish Section by adding a large stone inscribed “The Danish Section” and the stone was placed in a beautiful flower bed. A Stone Bench was also added. Also all the burial lots were numbered with stone markers.
Thanks to the initiative taken in 1934 and the very generous additions given by Maren Elman Christensen, Danish Canadians in Montreal today have a very presentable “Memorial Garden”.
Svend Berg. October, 2007