The Final Word: The Book of Canadian Epitaphs

Richard Wilbur is author of The Rise of French New Brunswick and H.H.
Stevens, 1878–1973, and co-author of Silver Harvest: The Fundy
Weirmen’s Story. His latest book is Horse-Drawn Carriages and Sleighs:
Elegant Vehicles from New England and New Bruns

Spending over a decade wandering through graveyards noting the epitaphs
may seem odd, as the author admits in her brief introduction—but, she
tells us, “I am doing exactly what I should be doing … remembering
those who came before me.” So she invites us to join her. “It’s
not scary. It’s just us.” And a delightful trip it is, as she
conveys the witty, wise, and, yes, sad final words the deceased or their
relatives placed on the gravestones. Below each selection is the
author’s brief but appropriate and often reflective comment, and while
her choices, as indicated by the index, are heavily weighted toward
Western Canada (she is “Alberta born and bred”) there are enough
from Eastern Canada to support her contention that this is a national
cross-section.

The more than 100 entries are arranged in no particular order. The
briefest epitaphs seemed the most effective: “This wasn’t my
idea,” “Horses Ran Away,” “To Be Continued.” A few people,
especially for the famous, like Laura Secord or Gabriel Dumont, had
tombstones large enough to tell their story in considerable detail. Of
course, many are religious in tone, while others pay tribute to great
tragedies, such as the large tombstone on Grosse-Оle, Quebec, which
reads: “In this secluded spot / Lie the mortal remains of 5,424
persons / Who flying from Pestilence and Famine / In Ireland in the year
1847 found in America / But a grave.”

This little book can be read in less than an hour, but its contents
will remain with you far longer. Millar should do a longer sequel.