Vancouver Island Masonic History Project

Vancouver Island Cemeteries – Masonic Interments / Cowichan Valley Cemeteries – Masonic Interments

Mountain View Cemetery, North Cowichan

Mountain View Cemetery is located at the intersection of Somenos Road and Drinkwater Road in North Cowichan, B.C.  We are gradually updating our website and this page is not yet complete. Please see our previous page for Mountain View Cemetery for links to individual names until we get this new page completed.

Mountain View Cemetery with Mt. Prevost in the background
Mountain View Cemetery with Mt. Prevost (hence the name “mountain view”) in the background

Here is a map showing the location of Mountain View Cemetery, North Cowichan:

Here is a Google Street View image of Mountain View Cemetery as seen from the intersection of Drinkwater Road and Somenos Road, North Cowichan:

Although this cemetery is often referred to in older records as the Methodist Cemetery and the United Church Cemetery, Somenos, the present Mountain View Cemetery is a municipal facility operated by the Municipality of North Cowichan and is located at the north-east corner of the intersection of Somenos Road and Drinkwater Road, North Cowichan.

Here is a link to a search page on Mountain View cemetery interments. Here is a link to a map of Mountain View cemetery showing the location of individual plots [note: PDF]

We are currently aware of 30 deceased Freemasons interred in Mountain View Cemetery. All except two were members of Temple Lodge, No. 33 and include two former Mayors of Duncan and a Reeve of North Cowichan. The names appear in the list below:

  1. ASHLEY, Alpheus Armot – died 1960
  2. CAMPBELL, James McLeod – died 1961. Reeve of North Cowichan, served on Duncan City Council. also see St. John’s Church
  3. CASTLEY, John Henry – died 1956
  4. DICKIE, Herbert William – died 1949. also see Charles Herbert DICKIE and 149 Canada Avenue.
  5. HARRIS, George Almon – died 1945
  6. GIDLEY, Stanley William – died 1952
  7. GREEN, Alfred Edward – died 1968 (note: Alfred Green’s son, M.W.B. Claude Green (Past Grand Master) is buried in St. Mary’s Somenos Anglican cemetery, a short drive south on Somenos Road
  8. GROSSKLEG, William Frederick – died 1952
  9. KERRONE, Joseph – died 1965
  10. KENNETT, Richard “Bucky” – died 1987 (note: founder of Bucky’s Sport Shop in downtown Duncan, B.C.)
  11. KIER, William Herman Cecil – died 1966. Inspector in B.C. Provincial Police
  12. KYLE, John Albert – died 1951 (also see 161-165 Station Street and 971 Government Street)
  13. LeQUESNE, James Farley – died 1958. Served several terms on Duncan City Council.
  14. LEWIS, Charles Walter – died 1959; member of Kamloops Lodge, No.10, Kamloops, B.C.
  15. LIVINGSTON, John – died 1937
  16. LUKAITIS, Martin – died 2011. Served on Duncan City Council 1967-2002
  17. MAINS, Charles B. – died 1952, aged 84. His business building is still standing at 70 Government Street, Duncan.
  18. MOWAT, George Frederick – died 1941
  19. PAGE, Arthur – died 1928
  20. PITT, Thomas – died 1937. Mayor of Duncan. Business buildings are still standing: Cowichan Merchants Building and 231 Government Street
  21. PLASKETT, David – died 1952
  22. PLASKETT, Eli Hodgson – died 1960
  23. POLLOCK, James Dickson – died 1936
  24. ROMBOUGH, Kenneth  – died 1937. Member of Harmony Lodge No. 75, Perdue, Saskatchewan
  25. SMYTHE, Ormond Towers – died 1948 . Mayor of Duncan 1914-16, 1923
  26. STEVENSON, Archibald – died 1984
  27. TRUESDALE, Lewis Henry – died 1916. Charter Member of Temple Lodge, No.33
  28. Van NORMAN, Frederick –
  29. VAN NORMAN, Isaac Newton – died 1920
  30. VAN NORMAN, Thomas – died 1924

We have also discovered the following members of the Order of the Eastern Star interred in Mountain View Cemetery:

  • Stevenson, Sara Elizabeth – died 1985

There are some other graves in Mountain View Cemetery which may be of interest to visitors.

One is the grave of B.C.’s seventh Premier, the Hon. William Smithe ((1842-1887)

William Smithe was not a Freemason but his son, Ormond Towers Smythe, was a member of Temple Lodge, No.33 and a Mayor of Duncan. William Smithe’s leading political opponent, the Hon. George Anthony Walkem (Premier of B.C. between February 1874 – January 1876 and again between 1878 – June 1882) was a member of Kamloops Lodge, No.10 in Kamloops, B.C. and King Solomon’s Lodge, No 22 in Toronto, Ontario. The Hon. George Anthony Walkem is buried in Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria.

The GPS location of the Hon. William Smithe’s grave is: N 48° 48.197′ W 123° 44.176′

Premier William Smithe grave, Mountain View cemeteryPremier William Smithe grave, Mountain View cemetery
Premier William Smithe grave, Mountain View cemetery

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