Ontario Knights restore the graves of past leaders as they prepare to celebrate the jurisdiction’s 125th anniversary.
By Cecilia Engbert
Knights of Columbus Knightline Magazine

Ontario State Deputy Bruce Poulin sat in front of a tombstone in Notre Dame Cemetery on Aug. 12, repainting the faded epitaph of Father John O’Gorman, a founding member of the first K of C council in Ontario. It was the third tombstone he had repainted in the Ottawa cemetery, and each one took a tedious three hours to complete. But Poulin didn’t mind; he was just one Knight honoring another.

Poulin finished his painting just in time to join State Chaplain Archbishop Marcel Damphousse of Ottawa-Cornwall and other guests for that day’s ceremony to rededicate Father O’Gorman’s grave and the graves of seven other early K of C leaders — including six past state deputies — buried in the cemetery.

“We are acknowledging the legacy upon which we are building our success today, built on their sacrifice and successes of yesteryear,” said Poulin, who discovered the eight graves while investigating the history of Ontario Knights in anticipation of the jurisdiction’s 125th anniversary. Ottawa Council 485, the first council in Ontario, was chartered Jan. 28, 1900.

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