The Ladysmith and District Historical Society has found a way to remember Kit Willmot.
The historical society is planning to create a lasting memorial to Willmot, a tireless volunteer in the community who passed away July 3, by commissioning a bench in his honour.
The bench will be placed at the Ladysmith Cemetery, and a plaque on the bench will read, “Remembering Kit Willmot, a dedicated volunteer, 1925-2012.”
“The recent passing of one of our most valued volunteers, Kit Willmot, has left the historical society with many ideas on how best to create a lasting memorial,” Maureen Martin, president of the Ladysmith and District Historical Society, wrote in a letter to local businesses asking for their support to help purchase the bench.
Willmot spent many, many hours at the Ladysmith Cemetery, recording gravestone markers and preserving those records for future generations and for people whose ancestors are buried in Ladysmith but who can’t come to see the graves in person, explained Martin.
To honour Willmot’s work, the society will place a bench at the Ladysmith Cemetery in Willmot’s memory.
The bench costs $2,500, and the historical society is hoping other groups in the community will want to contribute toward its purchase.
“It was just agreed that Kit did so much, that we wanted to do something for him,” said Martin. “The [historical society] board was so determined to do this that they decided instead of waiting to gather the money to buy the bench, we would just do it and hope people would help.”
Martin says Willmot did an incredible amount of work at the cemetery recording graves. Volunteers with the historical society are hoping to fill in the blanks in the work Willmot started to create an online database or a little book for genealogists that lists all the gravestones in Ladysmith.
“Kit did a tremendous amount of work,” said Martin.
Anyone who would like to contribute toward the cost of the bench can contact the Ladysmith and District Historical Society at 250-245-0100 or ldhsarch@telus.net.