CAROL ANN NEWLAND DECEMBER 26,1939 – APRIL 22, 2023
Carol Ann Newland, age 83, a long-time resident of Toronto, died on April 22, 2023.
Carol was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire to Virginia (nee Muirhead) and Rowland Hoggart-Hill
A devout Catholic, Carol attended Our Lady of Sion School in Worthing where she made many life-long friends.
After the war, the family moved to Canada in 1957 where she attended Saint Michael’s College at the University of Toronto.
She married, had three children - whom she loved very much and supported in all their endeavours - Alexandra, Paul and Victoria.
The family moved to England for a brief period in the 1970s before returning to Toronto where Carol worked as an assistant librarian at the Toronto Reference Library for 33 years until she retired in 2009.
This is a brief outline of her life, for those who wish to find Carol based on certain milestones and experiences with which she can be identified. But for those of us who knew her, Carol was so much more than these scenes from a life.
She was born during wartime, with her father serving as an officer with the Royal Tank Corps, and spent the rest of her life reading about the great conflict which played a large role in guiding her future. In 1957, she moved to Canada with her parents to pursue opportunities in the post-war world.
Her children remember her as the centre and the rock of the family , a guiding and caring mother who dragged her grocery buggy to the store no matter the weather but still made time to accompany her children to school, playing games along the way. Whether in Toronto or Ilkley, Yorkshire, Mum was the constant presence who watched over her children, took them to the theatre, ballet or movies, encouraged them in literature and the arts, sent them to bed with tea and toast every night, and always covered the details of Christmas presents, filling stockings with chocolate coins, making monsen cake and beef wellington for the family dinner. Mum set the tone for the home and all her children grew up in the warmth of her generosity and compassion. She was the confidante of her children's struggles and conflicts, and it became something of a family joke to hear the phrase, "Don't tell your father."
A voracious reader, Carol was employed as an assistant librarian at the Toronto Reference Library, impressing her employer during the interview when she walked into the vintage stacks and observed, "I love the smell of old books." She called everyone "Cookie" and enjoyed helping people, especially the more colourful 'regulars' who frequented the library more for shelter than study. Her personal library was extensive, and she would often be heard laughing to Wilde or Wodehouse, quoting historical figures and delving into the details of battles or examining the intricacies of her Scottish heritage. Her passion for reading was instilled in her children who cherish the many books she gave them over the years- some even signed by the author.
Raising three children was enough, but the woman of many hats, both literally and figuratively, had time for many other activities besides home and work. Carol was involved in politics, supporting several candidates in municipal, provincial and federal elections over the decades beginning with Mitchell Sharp, taking her children to see Pierre Trudeau at Maple Leaf Gardens during the height of Trudeaumania, supporting the campaigns of Roy McMurtry, Barbara Hall and numerous others.
She was a member of the Mayor's Committee on Race Relations in the 1980s, as well as a volunteer probation officer and wrote a book for the Toronto Police Department. She would often regale her children with stories of the dark side of Toronto's streets when she rode with police on night shifts or recalled conversations with probationers as they shifted to life outside. She volunteered at Casey House back in the 1980s and again more recently, sometimes being the only kind face the residents would see during a time when AIDS was still vilified and families were torn apart by it. She served with the Saint Vincent De Paul Society during her final years, even after her first stroke, providing support and assistance for those in the holding cells awaiting their court appearance downtown. Carol was truly someone who heeded those powerful words, "I was in prison and you visited me."
There are plenty of photographs of Carol's busy social life, nights out at the movies, drinks at garden parties. Carol was a raconteuse who brought joie-de-vivre to every party she attended. She loved going for long walks from her home at Davisville to the downtown core well into her later years, and it was all her children and the patient staff at the Meighen Retirement Residence could do to keep her from exploring her wanderlust with her walker even in the dead of winter. It was in those final years that Victoria and her husband Jim took exceptional care of Mum, making those years among the best for "Mummsie." The annual trips with her to her beloved Stratford are among the many memories they will cherish forever.

Carol is survived by her children Alexandra (Shea), Paul and Victoria (Williamson), and her grandchildren, Samantha, Michael, Alexis, Elizabeth, Keith, Declan and step-grandchildren Clare and Jamie. Mum’s stuffed animal collection will be well-loved for generations to come.
She carried a lot of burdens in her time and bore them with her head held high, truly the embodiment of 'Keep Calm, and Carry On.'
As Paul said it,
I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.
From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness.

God bless you, Mum
Love,
Your kids.

Donations can be made to the Meighen Retirement Residence, which provided the most excellent and compassionate care to Carol in her final years at: Meighen Retirement Residence Donations

If you wish to donate to Carol's favourite hospital, the one where her children were born and where she received her last care, please give to Saint Michael's Hospital, Toronto at:. St Michael's Hospital Foundation