Explore Woodlands Cemetery

Over three thousand people were buried in the cemetery at Woodlands from 1920 to 1958.

The cemetery list shows the names of the individuals and the burial plots. The list is based on an updated database provided by The British Columbia Association of Community Living, BCACL.

Click on the individual names to see where they are buried and to read comments about them. You can also add your own comments.

The cemetery map shows markers for all the individuals buried in the Woodlands cemetery.

The search box can be used to look up individuals by name or key words.

Cemetery list of deceased individuals.

Browse cemetery list

Map image of individual in cemetery.

Individuals in cemetery

Map image of all individuals in cemetery.

Full Cemetery Map

Comments

Brianna (not verified)

In reply to: Gravestone

Michael,

The comments made about your great grandmother break my heart. My great great grandfather and grandmother are buried at Woodlands. They were a secret my family kept for 3 generations which I recently uncovered. I visited their final resting place here just yesterday and am still processing what happened to them and so many like them, although I do not know why they ended up at Essondale.

The generational trauma really stands out to me. My father isn't a part of my life, and his father took this family history with him to his grave, never uttering a word about his dad or his grandparents. The son of my great great grandparents who died at Essondale was likely left an orphan. I imagine this began a long and poorly understood chain of trauma and absent fathers in my family.

If there ever is a support group for the descendents, I am absolutely eager to be a part of it.

Sending strength and with you in solidarity.

May your great grandmother's memory be remembered with compassion.

Leah Shuler (not verified)

Hello,

I would like to visit the memorial garden and find the exact spot where my uncle is buried. His name was Gordon Scarlett. He died in 1937 at 6 years old. I have his plot # from this website, but when I clicked on the map that shows the exact location, the page won’t load because of “too many redirects”. The “full cemetery map”. He is buried in plot 9, block 17. Do you have access to this map? I would like to see a screen shot of where he is in the cemetery.

Thank you,

Leah Shuler

Leah Shuler (not verified)

In reply to: We would like our grandmother to have a proper headstone.

I tried to find who could help me get a headstone for my uncle in 2021, but I was just shuffled around from one government agency to the next. City of New West could not even help me. Did you ever find out how to get a headstone there? I would really like to know.

Mafalda (not verified)

In reply to: I would like a headstone too

The land on which the cemetery lies (Woodlands Memorial Gardens) is owned by the provincial government and the ministry responsible is Citizen' Services. You could try contacting the Real Property Division as a start.
I too have a great uncle buried there and wish to lay a headstone for him.

mdec

In reply to: Gordon Scarlett GPS location

hi Leah

Thank you for your note about your search for your uncle’s grave. I understand your frustration. I created the new survey of the former woodlands cemetery and the interactive cemetery google map enabled website almost 20 years ago as part of a public art project/exhibition. The interactive map aspect of the website has been deteriorating lately and it doesn’t work well now. I have been supporting this public art project for the past 20 years and now can’t afford to fix it. Not sure what I'm going to do about it.

Being able to find coordinates for individual grave sites is still helpful. If you can get hold of a handheld GPS finder you can enter the coordinates available on the website next to your uncles name and then use it at the cemetery to locate your missing grave. The new handheld GPS devices are quite accurate and not overly expensive. I have included a screen shot of the map as you requested it clearly shows plot 9 in block 17. Also places it in an accurate relationship with the architectural features and the trees on the site.

Hope this helps you with your search for your uncle. Please keep us posted on your progress and of your effort to place a proper marker at the grave.

Cheers!

MdeC
Site Administrator

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Jim Wolf (not verified)

In reply to: Burials prior to 1920

I hope this information finds its way to Darlene so long after her comment. Yes Arthur Alderson died at the Provincial Hospital for the Insane in New Westminster on November 23, 1915. I have him on my list of likely (but not confirmed) burials at the Douglas Cemetery in New Westminster. He is not listed in the Bowell Company register as being buried by that undertaker. However, it is likely that he was buried by the Murchie firm. Sometimes the Death Certificate lists the undertaker and\or cemetery name. So look carefully for this information. If you have not found a burial for him at another cemetery in the Lower Mainland he is likely interred in the cemetery I am documenting.

Darlene (not verified)

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR INPUT!!!

Honestly, I had forgotten about posting to this site and the input from each of you is GREATLY appreciated. This coming year my brother, S-I-L and myself are planning a road trip to visit burial grounds and hopefully old home places of my father's people including my great grandfather Arthur Alderson. Thinking the library records for the funeral home will be an excellent place to search as well as the BC archives. I had reached out to the archives probably around 2014 when I posted here originally. The lady who I spoke with at the archives said there are records regarding to him in their files along with the original death certificate which I was able to access online. Our Dad had never known anything of his grandfather until the copy of his death certificate was found. Dad was pretty excited to have even that much information about his grandfather.

Currently we are planning our 'attack' to visit as many places as possible as most of Dad's relatives were in the Montana, Idaho, Utah and California areas along with in Canada. Researching prior to travel is necessary and if there are any additional suggestion, please share!!

Again, Thank you all!!! DW

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