Archived: Hurricane Hazel - Fatalities

The story of Hurricane Hazel is a story of many tragedies; whole communities were destroyed and countless lives were forever altered. Although much has been said about the storm expenses, the most important costs were not the financial ones. Destroyed and damaged infrastructure and property can be replaced… the truly important and most compelling aspect of this chronicle are the stories of the people affected and families forever altered. The following section is not meant as a morbid accounting of Hurricane Hazel’s death toll, but is instead intended to honour and pay respect to those who lost their lives during this ordeal.

The official death toll for this storm is 81 people. Various other statistics report between 80 and 83 deaths. Two names are missing from this list but are believed to be the storm orphan’s grandmother, name unknown, who was visiting at the time of the flood, and possibly Mr. and Mrs. Crymble’s daughter who was reported missing with her parents, but not confirmed dead in the follow-up newspaper reports of fatalities. The majority of the people on this list were drowned in the flooding rivers. Raymore Drive experienced the most casualties with 35 people dead on one street. Two other notable tragedies that stirred the emotions of the communities impacted by the floods and beyond were the Storm Orphan (Nancy Thorpe) and the deaths of five firemen from the Kingsway-Lambton fire station. Nancy Thorpe was the sole survivor of her family, which consisted of her parents and older brother. The five firemen were drowned when they were responding to a call for help from people trapped in their car along the flooding Humber River.

• Auger, Gérald – 27 – Hull, Quebec - electrocuted
• Babbidge, Claude – Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Boyd, James – 84 – 140 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke - drowned
• Brasz, Albert – 48 – Weston - drowned
• Brough, Helen – 80 – Raymore, Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Clarke, John T. – 26 – O’Connor Drive – drowned at Woodbridge
• Collins, Clarence – Etobicoke Deputy Fire Chief – drowned
• Crymble, Ed – 35 – 13 Island Road, Long Branch – drowned when their home was swept into a lake
• Crymble, Mrs. Ed – 34 – 13 Island Road, Long Branch – drowned
• Curtis, Annie – 75 – Fairglen Crescent, Weston – drowned
• Deadder, Clyde – 19 – Thistletown – drowned in Humber
• Deadder, Murray – 23 – Thistletown – drowned in Humber
• Drysdale, Jerry – 23 – drowned in Woodbridge in the Humber
• Edgar, Charles – Baxter, Ontario – drowned at Beeton in the Boyne River
• Edwards, Kenneth – 27 – 248 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned in Humber
• Edwards, Mrs. Joan – 27 – 248 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned in Humber
• Edwards, Caroline – 3 – 248 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned in Humber
• Edwards, Frank – 2- 248 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned in Humber
• Edwards, John – 3 months – 248 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned in Humber
• Gamble, Frederick W. – Shelburne – drowned at Woodbridge
• Gillan, George – 144 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Gillan, Helen – 144 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Girodat, Paul – 31- Raymore Drive – drowned in Humber
• Hall, Kenneth – 53 – 140 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Haugh, Jack – 72 – Beeton – drowned in Boyne River
• Haugh, Charles O. – 41 – Egbert, Ontario – drowned at Beeton in Boyne River
• Haugh, Mrs. Charles O. – 41 – Egbert, Ontario – drowned at Beeton in Boyne River
• Henderson, James – 62 – Selby or Kingston – killed in auto crash near Deseronto
• Hodgson, Wayne – 7 – London, Ontario – drowned
• Jeffries, Edward Albert – 69 – 143 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned in Humber
• Jeffries, Elizabeth – 143 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Jeffries, Mrs. Thomas Sr. – Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Johnston, Mrs. Robert – 47 – Long Branch – drowned
• Joyce, Frank J. – 19 – Athlone – killed in auto crash near Brampton when car fell into a cave-in on highway 7
• Joyce, Irving – 20 – Beeton – drowned in car between Toronto and Beeton in Boyne River
• Lanning, Bruce – 10 – Oshawa – drowned at Unionville when he was swept from his father’s shoulders
• LeBlanc, Alice – 140 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• McCallum, Gordon – Palmerston – burned in Southhampton train wreck
• McGarvey, Philomena – 45 – 152 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• McGarvey, Jacqueline – 9 – 152 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• McGarvey, Donald – 17 – 152 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Mercer, Frank – Etobicoke fireman – drowned
• Neil, Mrs. Jean – 25 – 148 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Neil, Adele – 1 – 148 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Neil, Susan – 3 – 148 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Neil, Darlene – 4 – 148 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Newing Gerald – 136 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Newing, Katherine (his mother) – 136 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Newing, Gerald Jr. – 136 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Nicholson, Stewart – Palmerston – fatally injured in Southhampton train crash
• Oliver, Roy – Etobicoke fireman – drowned
• Palmateer, Dave – Etobicoke fireman – drowned
• Peasley, Lambert – 140 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Peasley, Doris – 140 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Peasley, Sylvia – 18 – 140 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Perry, Della – 50 – Lansing – drowned at Woodbridge
• Radley, Diane – 8 – Woodbridge – drowned
• Radley, Bobby – 5 – Woodbridge – drowned
• Reid, Donald – 29 – Woodbridge – drowned
• Reid, Mrs. Donald – Woodbridge – drowned
• Reid, Dallas – 7 – Woodbridge – drowned
• Ryan, Charles – 32 – 61 Fairglen Crescent, Weston – drowned
• Sauer, Mary – 53 Mattice Avenue, Etobicoke – drowned
• Salt, Vera – 136 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Small, Angus – Etobicoke Fireman – drowned
• Smith, Jack Sr. – 69 – Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Smith, Grace – 65 – Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Smith, Jack Jr. – 30 – Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Summers, George – 75 – Deseronto – killed in an auto crash near Deseronto
• Thorpe, Clifford - 27 – Island Road - Long Branch – drowned
• Thorpe, Patricia - 27 – Island Road - Long Branch – drowned
• Thorpe, Robert – 2- Island Road – Long Branch - drowned
• Topless, Al – 29 –- 136 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke - drowned
• Topless, Anne – 26 – 136 Raymore Drive, Etobicoke – drowned
• Trimble, Mrs. Marlon – Port Credit – drowned in Credit River
• Van Gelder, Lou – 21 – Fairglen Crescent drowned
• Wicks, Mrs. Nora – 45 – Aylmer – drowned in Aylmer Creek
• Wilson, David – Weston – drowned in Humber
• Wilson, Lewis (his father) – Weston – drowned