Bill Latham: The First Burial at Pine Hills Cemetery

1852–1928 
Pine Hills Cemetery 
Section B Lot 416

William “Bill” Alexander Latham was a Scarborough farmer and one of the early settlers of the Scarborough Junction. Born on a leap day in 1852, Bill married Jane Miller on October 17, 1894, and together, they raised four children.

The Latham family originally buried loved ones in Chalmers Cemetery at St. Clair and Pharmacy Avenue. When that cemetery was abandoned by 1928, the family chose Pine Hills Cemetery for future burials. In fact, Bill Latham holds a unique distinction: after his death in April 1928, he became the first person buried in Pine Hills Cemetery on July 5, 1928 – rumoured to have been the first of many burials facilitated by longtime groundskeeper Lloyd Shaddock. Later, in 1952, several earlier Latham burials from Chalmers Cemetery were moved to Pine Hills.

Bill Latham’s life and legacy reflect the pioneering spirit of Scarborough’s early farming families and the beginnings of one of Toronto’s most historic cemeteries. 

Source: 
•  Mount Pleasant Group archives