05/26/2026
Vice-President’s Message
Hello to all!
My name is Victoria (Tori) Maitland. I am a volunteer VP and Director of the
Willowbank Cemetery in Gananoque, Ontario living in Smiths Falls, Ontario in the heart of Rideau Lakes with my daughter and 3-year-old grandson nearby. We recently moved into this
area from the Kingston/Napanee area and before that, living in Toronto.
My father Peter J. Maitland, an only child, was born in Bowmanville, Ontario and my mother Elinor B. Murray, one of three, born in Toronto. Peter’s father was a traveling salesman for GM and Peter was in many schools including Gan High School. They owned a red bricked house on Highway 2 going into Gananoque that still is occupied to the current day. Peter attended
Ryerson Polytechnic for journalism that took him to NYC then settling in Toronto. He wrote Queen Elizabeth II’s speech opening the St. Lawrence seaway in 1959 and proceeded to be a
ghost writer for the Chairman of Ontario Hydro for many years.
I am the oldest of 3 children in our family. My grandparents Mildred and Frank Maitland owned the St. Lawrence beach resort in Gananoque, and my father was given land next to the resort nestled between the Grice cottages and ‘the beach’. The family spent time in Toronto and enjoyed the summers in Gananoque.
Eventually Peter and Elinor moved to Howe Island (1987) from Toronto then my husband Gordon Turner and I (1988) moved to Kingston. My father put up the Maitland monument in
Willowbank cemetery when his father passed and now it has many family members resting there. He became involved with the Willowbank cemetery as soon as they moved out of Toronto, working closely with Lorna Whyte writing the newsletter then he became Chair for a few years.
As young adults, we went to the spring cleanup, and my children have fond memories of the Willowbank cemetery.
I will proudly continue to be part of the Willowbank Board of Directors looking after the cemetery.
Please reach out to us
anytime with any questions/concerns.
