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The Sisters of St. Joseph Concert Band began as part of the Centennial Program for the London based Sisters, which lasted from December 1968 until December 1969. However, the Concert Band lasted well beyond the Centennial year, and was quite successful, playing at ecumenical concerts, music festivals, and performance venues from Quebec City to Edmonton and many places in between. From March 1968 to June 1970, the Sisters of St. Joseph Concert Band performed in 15 cities, at 35 public concerts, traveled 8,000 miles and performed for over 23,000 people. Its conductor was the well-known and respected Mr. Martin Boundy, until 1971 when Mr. Donald H. Jones became the Band's conductor.

The instruments first arrived on March 17, 1967, and the Sisters began practicing. Their first concert was on March 19 (St. Joseph's Day) in the Mount St. Joseph Academy Auditorium in London, Ontario.

The Concert Band first officially performed at Catholic Central High School on March 15, 1968. On October 1 of the same year, they played at the Kiwanis Convention on the ground floor of Centennial Hall in London. Another significant performance included the 1968 Waterloo Instrumental Clinic on April 27, 1968, when they laid down their instruments and performed as a choir and received a standing ovation from their audience.

The tertianship program delivered by the Sisters of St. Joseph of London was conducted in the summers of 1958, 1960, 1963 and 1966 at Holy Rosary Convent in Windsor, Ontario. The tertianship program was a month-long program and a Sister could only take part in it one time. The tertianship was an opportunity for professed Sisters to deepen their spiritual and religious vows through meditation, self-evaluation, reflection, and study. They also studied what Pope John XXIII had written in his encyclical on mercy. After Bishop Carter called a synod on Vatican II, tertianships ended. Mother Julia assumed leadership of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London five years prior to the Second Vatican Council, and was very involved in the tertianship process.

In order to become a Sister of St. Joseph, a woman had to complete the formation process. She spent at least six months as a postulant when she first entered the convent. She then became a novice and spent two years in this position. During the first year, known as the canonical year, she could take no outside work. She studied her vows, the charism, and the life of the Sisters of St. Joseph. In the second year, she could possibly do some outside ministry, but not fill a professional role such as a nurse. After the first two and a half years, she took her first vows. After this, she could have a ministry. The first vows were considered temporary vows. The next three to six years were spent in the Juniorate. After this, she took her final vows and became a professed Sister.

The Tertianship was an opportunity to regroup and reaffirm for a professed Sister who had been in a Ministry. It could only be taken once and took place in a one-month period. Tertianship was not part of the formation process, although one could view it as part of ongoing formation. After a while, the Tertianship process died out and all Sisters were encouraged to study the works of the Vatican Council.

Vocation is the process of encouraging a woman to heed the call to enter religious life.

Mount Hope was the first Catholic institution in the Diocese of London to offer refuge and a home for the sick, infirm, destitute, and forsaken. The property that was originally the Barker House, was purchased by Bishop John Walsh and opened in 1869 as a Motherhouse and orphanage for the Sisters of St. Joseph. By 1870, the number of orphans living at Mount Hope grew. The elderly also moved to Mount Hope from Victoria Hospital and the Municipal Home for the Aged. The residents helped with domestic duties, gardening and other tasks. In 1877, the original building was extended and renamed Mount Hope Mother House, Orphanage and Home for the Aged. The only source of revenue were the salaries earned by Sister teachers and donations. By the late 1890s, Mount Hope became overcrowded. For health reasons, the orphans were moved to a new location and the elderly stayed at Mount Hope which was then renamed House of Providence. In 1951, St. Mary’s Hospital was built on one side, and in 1966, Marian Villa was built on the other side. The elderly were moved from the House of Providence to Marian Villa over time. In 1980, the House of Providence was demolished.

In the late 1860s, Durand articled for architect William Robinson where he met his friend and future partner Thomas Tracy. Durand returned to London and formed a partnership with Robinson and Tracy in 1878.

David Mills was born 18 March 1831 in Orford Township, Upper Canada, to Nathaniel Mills and Mary Guggerty. David received his early education at the local school in Palmyra Corners. He became a teacher and from April 1856 to April 1865 he served as a school superintendent in Kent. He married Mary Jane Brown on 17 December 1860 in Chatham, Upper Canada, and had three sons and four daughters. During this time spent as superintendent he also farmed on his inherited part of the family farm at Palmyra. By 1864 he seems to have become active politically in the Reform party in Kent.

In 1865 he enrolled at the University of Michigan Law School from which he graduated in March of 1867. Mills attained his degree but made no formal application to the law society until 1878, and he was not called to bar until 1883. He first practiced law in the firm of Ephraim Jones Parke in London, Ontario and later practiced with one of his sons. In 1885 he was on the faculty of the newly opened London Law School as professor of international law and the rise of representative government. Five years later he became a Queen's Council lawyer.

After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1867, Mills returned to Canada and secured the Reform nomination for the federal constituency of Bothwell, which covered parts of Kent and Lambton counties. He would hold the seat until 1882 and again from 1884 to 1896. He introduced a motion to do away with the practice of dual representation at the federal level on 20 November 1867 and had it completely abolished in 1873. In 1872 he suggested that senators be properly elected or chosen directly by the provincial legislatures, and remained an advocate for the Senate to be rendered a better guardian of provincial interests. Mills told parliament in June 1869 that if ever it was "a question whether Federal or Local Legislatures should be destroyed," his view was that "the country would suffer far less by the destruction of the Federal power."

In 1872 he asked Oliver Mowat, the Liberal premier of Ontario from 1872 to 1896, to prepare a written defense of the province's placement of its disputed western and northern boundaries. The report was published in early 1873 and made Mills a key player in the boundary dispute. Mills was asked in January 1876 to chair the select committee established to investigate the economic depression and was appointed minister of the interior in October.

The defeat of the Mackenzie government in the election of 1878 put an end to Mills' ministerial duties and administrative ambitions. He retained Bothwell, however, making him one of the senior Ontario Liberals in the caucus. He was one of the leaders of the movement in 1880 to oust Mackenzie from the leadership position. Mills became one of Edward Blake's chief lieutenants when he became leader and coordinated the Liberal filibuster in 1885. He considered his speech of 1 April 1885 to be one of the finest speeches of his parliamentary career.

As editor-in-chief of the London Advertiser from 1882 to 1887, Mills built a case against the Macdonald government's administration of national affairs in a series of unsigned, but distinctive, editorials. He seems to have been particularly active as a journalist in 1883, when he was defeated in the election of 20 June 1882 and was forced to sit out a session of parliament while his case was considered by the courts. He won in February 1884 and returned to the commons. In 1886 he followed Blake in condemning the execution of Louis Riel and in 1889 he delivered a strong speech opposing disallowance, arguing that parliament had no business interfering with legislation that was clearly within provincial jurisdiction. In the 1890 debate over the use of French in legislature, Mills delivered an eloquent speech in defense of linguistic rights.

Mills lost Bothwell in the general election of 23 June 1896. Although summoned to the Senate in November 1896, he was not invited to join the cabinet. He consequently devoted more time to his law practice in London, continued his work at the University of Toronto, where he had been appointed in 1888 to teach constitutional and international law, and wrote and lectured on a wide variety of religious and political subjects. Laurier asked Mills to fill the vacancy left by Sir Oliver Mowat in 1897 and on 18 November he was sworn in as minister of justice and became government leader in the Senate.

In 1902 Mills arranged his own appointment as a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, a move that was widely criticized. On 8 May 1903, Mills died suddenly of an internal haemorrhage, leaving behind his wife and six of his children.

In 1974, Nancy Johnson and Mark McCurdy started a film production company in London, Ontario. Starting the company with only the two of them, they named it Creative Services Inc. Their intention was to create audio-visual materials for clients for promotion, advertising, education and other purposes. The name was changed to Lockwood Films (London) Inc. in 1978 and incorporated under the Business Corporations Act on January 19, 1978. Nancy Johnson and Mark McCurdy owned additional companies that were associated with Lockwood Films. From 1984-1997 they operated 584193 Ontario Inc. which owned the airplane used by Lockwood Films to travel to jobs. Holding companies 533400 Ontario Inc. started in 1983 and 959229 Ontario Inc. was started in 1992 and owned Lockwood Films. 533400, 959229 and Lockwood Films were amalgamated to Lockwood Films (London) Inc. in 2013. Throughout the life of the company, Nancy Johnson was President, Producer and Writer and Mark McCurdy was Producer, Director and Writer. The company was divided into production related activities, marketing and sales, and bookkeeping. They had a number of employees on staff until they stopped producing in 2007.Someof their earliest projects as Creative Services were commercials, public service announcements and slide shows with audio tracks. They also created a music video called “Friends.” Under the name Lockwood Films, the company produced documentaries, commercials and public service announcements, training and educational material, corporate communications both internal and to promote the organization or products and, promotion for not-for-profit organizations. While Lockwood Films was a fairly small company located in London, they did projects locally, nationally and internationally. Significant projects were: “Doctor Woman: The Life and Times of Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw” for the National Film Board in 1978; “Quick Strike” in 1983 for General Motors Defense which led to Lockwood being the producer of record for GMD for over 20 years; “James Reaney: Listening to the Wind” in 1996; “Always Be Careful”, a burn safety film for children in 1979 and “Cover Up”, a film about sunburn for children in 1995. They won national and international awards including winner of the American Film Festival in New York for “From the Farm to the Fork” in 1985 and Best Documentary for “Doctor Woman” from the Canadian Film and Television Association Awards in 1979. They worked in such diverse industries as automotive repair, agriculture, education, health and government. They worked for clients such as 3M, General Motors Defense, Mufflerman and Western University. Productions were completed for the National Film Board and TVO (Ontario Educational Communications Authority).

Henry Corry Rowley Becher immigrated to London in 1835. The Becher family was prominent in the legal profession, political and community activities, and military service. Henry C.R. Becher was a prominent attorney and active in politics. Henry Becher was a lawyer and active in London politics. Katharine Becher was active in community affairs. Henry Campbell Becher was a lawyer and stockbroker who served in World War I. Archibald Valancey Becher, a physician, also served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Thornwood, the Becher family home, was designated as a heritage building by the City of London in 1992.

Sister Eveline Gagner was born in Chatham, Ontario on July 3, 1917. She was one of five children born to Dieudonne Gagner of Tilbury, Ontario and Marie Helene Caron of Dover Township, Kent County, Ontario. Her sister, Viola Marie Blanche, also entered the Congregation, and was given the religious name Yvonne.

Sister Eveline received her B.A. from Assumption University, Windsor in 1963, and her M.A. in Theology from the University of Windsor in 1972. She received a diploma from Lumen Vitae in Brussels. Following this, she received the Attestation d’Etudes: Recherche en Catéchèse from the University of Montreal in 1967. Three years later, in 1970, she received her Attestation d’Etudes: Perfectionnement en Religion from the University of Sherbrooke. Sister Eveline attended the EXODUS program in St. Louis Missouri, during a sabbatical period in 1988.

As well as her academic training, Sister Eveline holds her permanent teaching certificates for French and English. She taught from 1939 to 1979 in separate schools in Ontario, in London, Windsor, Belle River and Sarnia, and held positions as principal as well during this time. From 1969 to 1973, she served as the religion consultant for the Roman Catholic Separate School Board in Windsor, Ontario. From 1979 to 1982 Sister Eveline worked in the field of adult faith education as a catechist in the Stratford Deanery, followed by pastoral ministry at St. Andrew’s Parish in London from 1982 to 1988. Sister Eveline served as a volunteer in various capacities, including as a hospital visitor and ministering to the poor.

William Riley Stansell was born March 26, 1881 in Courtland, Ontario to Ephream and Eunice Belore Stansell. He began his career as a baker’s apprentice working in St. Thomas, Portsmouth, and Windsor. He started his own business selling baking equipment in Dundee, Michigan in 1902. Stansell married Bertha Buchner, daughter of A.O. Buchner, on October 12, 1903. They had six children together.
Stansell changed careers and began work in the machinery business with positions at the Read Machinery Company and the Lynn Superior Machinery Company. He founded the Motor Car Sales Company in Detroit, Michigan in 1915 selling and distributing Lexington, McFarlane, and Premier Motor cars. After working at Packard in Detroit, he joined Deby Motor Truck Company as their City Sales Manager. In 1919, Stansell was transferred to the Deby Motor Truck Company’s factory in Chatham, Ontario as their Factory Sales Manager.
In 1921, Stansell raised $750 000 to start London Motors Limited and set up shop in London as the President and General Manager. The company acquired space on Hale Street, near the family’s home at 367 Hale Street, and a second site at 67-69 King Street, the original site of the White Portable Steam Engine Company. Production began on pilot models in autumn 1921. The London Six was displayed at the London Motor Show in February 1922 and the CNE in August 1922. Stansell was known for his abilities in marketing and in April 1922 Governor General Lord Byng and his party were transported to and from the ground breaking ceremony for the new Western University campus in London Sixes.
London Motors built 98 London Sixes over the course of their operations. The cars were priced at $2700 to $3700. The price tag depended on the specific model, touring, roadster, or sedan. The London Six included a Herschell-Spillman engine underneath a rounded aluminum body. A variety of finishes were available, including polished, painted, or covered in cloth.
In 1924, Stansell needed to raise more capital for the business, and when he was unable to do so, the Board of Directors took control of the company. London Motors was unable to change their finances and the company dissolved in early 1925.
After the company dissolved, Stansell sold real estate in London before leaving for Detroit around 1928, where he worked as a car salesman. He retired to Courtland, Ontario in the 1950s and died on July 22, 1961.

John Harris was ordered into the British Royal Navy in 1803, after a brief service in the merchant marine. During his time in the navy, Harris rose to the rank of Master where he was responsible for maintaining, outfitting and navigating the ship and was required to note features of coastlines that had not been recorded. Harris was ordered to assist with the survey of the Great Lakes, under Commodore Edward Owen, in 1814. One of his first assignment was to survey the north shore of Lake Erie for a ship building site. John Harris retired on half-pay from the Navy in 1817 and moved to a farm near Long Point with his wife, Amelia Harris.
Harris was appointed to Treasurer of the London District in 1821. As Treasurer, Harris was responsible for tax collecting, overseeing public expenditure, issuing and receiving receipts for the sale of land, and other financial matters for the London District. Following the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837, Harris was appointed as a members of the Rebellion Losses Claims Commission. The Commission was established to review claims for losses suffered during the 1837 Rebellion in the London District and determine the compensation to be allotted.
John Harris remained active in the London political sphere until his death in 1850.

Born November 26, 1924 in Detroit, Michigan, Angela Marie Aubert was the only daughter of Joseph Telesphore (Ted) Aubert (d. 1936) and Helen Benesch (d. 1971). She had one brother. She was raised in Wildwood, near Edmonton, Alberta during the depression. Angela Aubert attended high school in Wildwood, and in 1945 moved to Edmonton to enroll in business and secretarial studies at McTavish Business College. She began her career as a secretary in Edmonton. It was at this time that she felt a call to religious life and on August 25, 1948, she was received into the Community of the Sisters of St. Joseph at Sacred Heart Convent in London, Ontario and given the name Sister Marie Angela. After her first vows on August 25, 1950, she returned to Edmonton where she began teacher training at the University of Alberta, graduating in 1951. Sister Marie Angela Aubert professed her final vows on August 25, 1954 in London. Her first assignment, until 1957, was at the Catholic school in St. Bride's, Alberta where she was a teacher, then principal. From 1957 to 1961, Sister Marie Angela Aubert was assigned to the business office at St. Joseph's Hospital in Galahad, Alberta and then returned to teach at St. Nicholas School in Edmonton until 1964. At that time she was asked to teach business and religion at O'Leary High School. As head of the business department, she encouraged her students to manage a real business in the classroom under the sponsorship of Junior Achievement. The students had great success, even winning awards and a chance to go to Vancouver to compete in the Junior Achievement national competition. She finished her Bachelor of Education studies, graduating in 1969, from the University of Alberta. In 1971, Sister Marie Angela Aubert returned to London, Ontario as head of the business department at Mount St. Joseph Academy, and in 1975, was assigned to Catholic Central High School. While teaching there from 1975 to 1978, she received the Catholic Central High School Business Club award. When Mount St. Joseph Academy closed, the facility was opened as a Guest Wing for those who had a family member as a patient in University Hospital, and Sister Marie Angela Aubert was appointed treasurer. During those years, she volunteered at the jail, participated in the Toastmistress Club, initiated self-Bible study, and turned Gospel stories into plays. She also maintained an interest in social justice, reaching out to the least fortunate and forgotten. In 1985 and 1987, the Ministry of Corrections gave her service awards for her volunteer work at the London Detention Centre. In 1991, she was moved to Ignatia Hall Infirmary and then to the care centre at 485 Windermere Road when it was built in 2007. Sister Marie Angela Aubert died there on January 17, 2008. A Mass of Resurrection was held in St. Joseph Chapel at the 485 Windermere Road residence. She is buried at St. Peter’s Cemetery in London.

Henry G. Hines (Harry) was a professional photographer working out of the Hines Studio in London Ontario from 1906 to 1929. He was born in the United States in 1875 and worked as a bartender in St. Louis, Missouri before moving to London, Ontario in 1899 with his wife Gertrude and son William. Upon arriving in London, Hines worked briefly as a bicycle repairman and a street railway conductor. Hines opened his professional photography studio on the East side of London in 1906 and advertised himself as a commercial photographer. Two years later, his son, William Henry (Bill) Hines joined him as a full partner. Although he took private client portraits, he was mainly commissioned by East London businesses and the City of London. The Hines Studiio closed permanently in 1929.

Sister Marie Celine Janisse was born in Windsor, Ontario on February 13, 1928. She was one of the seven children of Norman Janisse and Eva Tino, both of Windsor. She had her reception at Sacred Heart Convent in London, Ontario on August 25, 1946. Her first profession was August 25, 1948, and her final profession was August 25, 1951.
Sister Marie Celine received a Fine Art diploma from the Institute of Pedagogy, Montreal in 1952-53. She was awarded her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in 1969.

Sister Marie Celine served as a parish worker in Peru from August 2, 1983 to December 1, 1994. Upon her return to Canada, she was involved in Heart-Links, an organization started by the Sisters of St. Joseph to support community development in Peru. She returned to Peru from 1998 to 2000 to work for Heart-Links. After this, she served on pastoral and art projects with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Pembroke mission to Chincha, Peru from 2001 to 2003, and then again with Heart-Links in London from 2003 to 2007. Sister Marie Celine also served in Nicaragua as part of the Hurricane Mitch Response, for three months from 1998-1999.

Chapter meetings happened every four years and were the most official gatherings of the Sisters. A Chapter is the formal, decision making body of the congregation at which the leadership council is elected, and decisions are taken by the membership as a whole. Assemblies happened in the middle period between Chapters, in other words every two years. Assemblies were meant as a time to get together, to discuss decisions made at Chapters, to make or evaluate new potential decisions, and to prepare for major works to do at the next Chapter. This was also the time for celebration and prayer. Assembly meetings lasted for two days.

Assembly meetings were a necessary part of the congregation’s government structure. For every Assembly, a summary was written about what had been discussed, or questioned, or proposed during the meeting. The documentation was often accompanied by photos of participants.

Sister Mary Anthony Hartleib (nee Mary Anne Lenore) was born in Stratford, Ontario on February 10, 1924. She was the daughter of Charles Henry Hartleib and Loretta Durand. Her stepmother was Mary Hartleib of Waterloo, Ontario. Mary Anne Lenore Hartleib joined the congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London, Ontario and received the habit on July 2, 1965. She made her first vows on July 2, 1966 and her final vows on May 30, 1971 in the Chapel at Mount St. Joseph. She was given the religious name Sister Mary Anthony. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in art and theology at the University of Windsor in 1969, and then studied at Althouse College in London, Ontario. Sister Mary Anthony received a permanent teaching certificate in 1972, a supervisor’s certificate in art, and a teaching certificate in art and English. From 1970 until 1981, she supervised the art department at Mount St. Joseph Academy in London. She was appointed assistant bursar at Mount St. Joseph, but continued with art and the teaching of ceramics until 1985 when her art work took a new turn. Always interested in the spiritual, Sister Mary Anthony turned to iconography. She spent two years studying Chinese water colour painting, followed by three years of iconography. She was a scholar, a skilled teacher of art, and a passionate advocate of the way icons open the mystery of the sacred. Sister Mary Anthony became well known as an iconographer and maintained a studio in the Sisters’ residence after Mount St. Joseph Academy closed. For several years, she shared her knowledge of iconography with the seminarians at St. Peter’s Seminary in London. The community of the Sisters of St. Joseph moved to 485 Windermere Road in 2007, where Sister Mary Anthony occupied her own art studio. Three of her icons, including that of the Blessed Trinity, were placed in the Chapel at the new residence. After a very short illness, Sister Mary Anthony died in the care centre at the Sisters’ Residence on June 23, 2008. Her funeral Mass of Resurrection was celebrated in St. Joseph Chapel in the residence at 485 Windermere Road. Father Frank O’Connor of St. Peter’s Seminary was the main celebrant. Sister Mary Anthony was buried in St. Peter’s cemetery in London.

Jane Bigelow (1928 - ) was a politician and the mayor of London, Ontario from 1972 to 1978. She also served as controller on the city's Board of Control before and after her term as mayor.
She was born in Toronto in 1928 and educated at St. Clement's Girl's School and the University of Toronto where she completed a B.A. in Physical and Health Education in 1950. She trained as a teacher and taught in high schools in Ottawa, Hamilton and Edmonton.
After settling in London in 1965 with her husband and two children, she took courses at the University of Western Ontario towards a B.A. and began a master's program in urban studies. She participated in the founding of the Central London Association and the Urban League, a group that was designed to coordinate the efforts of local citizens' groups. She also became involved in the London Council of Women, serving on the committee which helped save the Broughdale Lands. Bigelow was active in local and provincial NDP organizations, serving as vice-president of the provincial party from 1968 to 1972. She organized several conventions for the party and was responsible for the Handbook for Municipal Politicians, published in 1968.
In 1969, she was elected to the Board of Control and when she was re-elected in 1971, she received the most votes out of all the controllers making her the deputy mayor. When mayor Fred Gosnell resigned for health reasons in February 1972 she took over as acting mayor. In March 1972, Bigelow was elected mayor by council and in 1973 she was elected mayor by the public in a general election. She was re-elected in 1974 and 1976 but was defeated in the 1978 election by Al Gleeson, an instructor at Fanshawe College.
As mayor, Jane Bigelow advocated for accessible day care, better public transit with special fares for senior citizens, neighbourhood improvement schemes, funding for the arts, more parks and better city planning. She was criticized for being uninterested in development. During her mayoralty, London received a triple A rating from two independent American organizations. In her last years of office, she became interested in financial planning and tax reform for municipalities. She was actively involved in several joint municipal-provincial organizations and represented London's interests at both higher levels of government. In 1974, she was invited with six other Canadian mayors to visit Israel and in 1976, she was a representative to the Habitat Conference and the Conference of Mayors held in Milan.
Some of the major issues during her term as mayor included the Talbot Square development, the London Regional Art gallery, the restoration of the Middlesex Court House and the possibility of siting a prison in London.
She was elected to the Board of Control in 1980 but did not run in 1982. She was later employed by Employment and Immigration Canada. She was honoured with several awards and recognitions for her public service.

The Board of Governors of Western University was established in 1908 with full authority to govern and manage the affairs of the University, except for those purely academic matters assigned to the Senate. The Board's mandate was to manage the property, finances, and business affairs of the University.

William Atcheson Stewart was born on a farm near Denfield, Ontario on February 26, 1915 to parents George A. Stewart and Frances Langford. He was educated at a local public school and attended Lucan high school during his teenage years. Stewart dropped out of high school in Grade 10 to pursue work on his family’s farm. Through his continued farm work, Stewart developed a fascination and passion for agricultural work.
William Stewart married Edythe M. Jones of Granton in 1940. They had four daughters, Marilyn Jenken, Norma Brock, Barbara Shipley, and Gay Slinger. Stewart was an active member of the agricultural community and headed several special committees on agricultural affairs. In 1957 William Stewart was elected MPP for Middlesex North for the Progressive Conservative (P.C.) Party in a by-election. He was re-elected in general elections in 1959, 1963, 1967, and 1971. In 1960, Stewart turned down a position as Minster of Transportation and entered as a Minister without Portfolio later that same year. In 1961 Stewart took on the position of Minister of Agriculture, and later Minister of Agriculture and Food, which he held until his retirement in 1975. Stewart retired as the longest serving Agricultural Minister in Canada.
During his time in office, William Atcheson Stewart was responsible implementing many important acts to further the agricultural sector in Ontario. These pieces of legislation include The Animals for Research Act 1968-1969, Beef Cattle Marketing Act 1968, an Act to Provide for Inspection of Meat for Human Consumption 1962-1963, and An Act respecting Ontario Agricultural College, Ontario Veterinary College and Macdonald Institute 1961-1962, to list a few.
Although Stewart was forced to retire from politics due to heart conditions, he remained active in the agricultural community in an advisory capacity and joined many major companies as a board member, including Ontario Hydro.
Stewart remained a longtime friend of the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC), a part of Guelph University. He was granted an LLD from the OAC in 1976, his first university degree. He also conferred an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1978. Stewart maintained close ties to the University of Guelph, eventually serving as Chancellor from 1983-1989. Stewart was also the first recipient of the Centennial Medal from the OAC at the University of Guelph during their centennial celebrations in 1974.
With encouragement of his family, Stewart wrote an autobiography of his life, “Rural Roots and Beyond,” outlining his childhood, political career and his retirement. The book was published in 1990, shortly before his death.
William Atcheson Stewart died of a heart attack at Victoria Hospital on December 8, 1990 at the age of 75. Stewart was inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1988 and inducted into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1992.

Born July 2, 1867. Died 1920. Son of Thomas Frazer Kingsmill and Anne (Ardagh) (Burris) Kingsmill. Henry Ardagh Kingsmill married Inez Ethelyn Smith (1870-1956), an American singer, in 1902. They had two children: Sidney Ardagh and Eleanor.

He graduated with a medical degree from Western University in 1895, and served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps. His name is on a campus plaque honouring Western University's soldiers of WWI. He died during a soldier's flu epidemic in 1920 at the age of 53.