Trinity College School - Record Yearbook (Port Hope, Ontario Canada)

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6 'l'RINl'l'Y COLLILGE SCHOOL RIQCORID. - Q master, Miss liva Patteson, Miss Rigby and Mrs. Murphy of Toronto, one of Mrs. Righy's oldest and dearest friends. As the choir passed slowly up the nave between the ranks of the School, singing the hymn : Art thou weary art thou languid? it was a moment of never-to-be- forgotten solemnity. The hymn after the Lesson was H 'l'en thousand times ten thousa'nd, and that after the Blessing On the Resurrection morning,'l all these having been favourites of Mrs. Rigby. After the last hymn the Dead March in Saul was played on the organ, the whole Congregation remaining standing, then, to the melody of Sehuherts lleath Song. the choir slowly left the Chapel, followed by the mourners and the School. In addition to the masters, boys, and masters' families, there were present many friends, among them being Col. and Mrs. Ward, Port Hope, Canon and Mrs. Spragge, of Cobourg, and Mrs. Mallory of Bow- manyille. The body lay in the ehaneel of the Chapel that she loved so well during 'l'uesday night, and on Wednesday morning it was taken to the station ofthe Canadian Northern Railway, followed by the masters and those ofthe boys who had not already left for their homes for the Easter holidays. The bearers had been chosen by relays from among these boys whom Mrs. Rigby had known most intimately g some for the ser- Vive, others for the morning walk from the School to the station, and others to avirompany the body to 'l'oronto and to the cemetery.. Un arrival at Toronto the Headmaster was joined by Mrs. Rigby's sister, Mrs. Wade, of Lilllffllgtl, and there were on the platform to meet the body: 'lille l,orrl llisllop of Toronto, .Xssistautt llishop Reeve, the Provost and llean ol' Trinity, Professor Young, the Rev. I . tiraham Ur:-hard, llt-adinastt-rseleet, Wr. William lnve, and others. The Staff of the Svliool was represented by llr. l't-try and Mr. llridger. .Xt the gate of St. james' tfemetery many others joined the proces- sion, among whom were: Mr. llyi-e Saunders, Mr. l,awrenr-e llaldwin,

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TRINITY f'Ul,l.litll'l SCIHIUUI. lllilftililb, 5 311 flbcntoriam Ellen 1Rigby3. It is our very sad duty to announce the death of Mrs. Rigby, the dearly beloved wife of the Headmaster, which took place at the Lodge on the evening of Palm Sunday, March the sixteenth. ' Mrs. Rigby had been ill for nearly a year 3 she suffered from heart trouble, and by the advice of her doctor, she spent five weeks in St. 'lohn's Hospital, Toronto, last summer, in order to get a complete rest and change. It was not, however, till last autumn that serious anxiety was felt on her behalf, and it was thought advisable for her to go again to the hospital for treatment. , After a stay of nearly three months at the hospital, Mrs. Rigby returned to Port Hope just at the end of the Christmas holidays, the doctors in Toronto having come to the Conclusion that she had not long to live, and that she would be happier in her own home. Although very weak Mrs. Rigby stood the journey remarkably well, and had not been home very long before she seemed to gain new strength, and it al- most looked as if the doctors, opinion might be falsihed. Once more she was able to see her friends, to take a keen interest in all that con- cerned the school, to listen to the choir boys who came over to sing hymns for her, and even to make plans for the future. However, on Friday, March 14th, a sudden period of intense suffering set in, the strain of which was too much for her enfeebled con- stitution to combat successfully, and although even on Saturday the doctor had not given up hope, by Sunday it could be seen that the end was not far off The pain had mercifully ceased, and late on Sunday night, Mrs. Rigby passed quietly and peacefully away. The funeral service was held in the Chapel on Tuesday afternoon at hall-past four, and was most solemn and impressive. 'The body was met at the main door ofthe School by Nlr. Britten-who took the ser- vice-and the choir, and was followed by the mourners : the Head-

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TRINITY COILIEOIC SCI-IOOI. RECORIJ. 7 the Rev. E. C. Cayley, Canon Plummer, the Rev. Mr. Sharpe, and Dr. Pepler, with several old and present boys of the School. The service at the grave, in the Patteson family lot, was taken by the Bishop of Toronto and the Rev. Canon Murphy, and that bright, warm March day, with the song of the early spring birds in the air, seemed a type of that Resurrection morning when there will be no more pain. In spite of the notice in the papers to omit flowers, many beautiful wreaths and crosses were sent, among them a cross and wreath from the masters and boys, and a lovely wreath from the Alumnae Society of St. Hilda's College. Mrs. Rigby was the eldest daughter of the late George Lee Patte- son, Barrister-at-law, of London, England, a cousin of the heroic Bishop of Melanesia, and she was thus intimately connected with the Coleridge family. On the death of Mr. Patteson, Mrs. Patteson and her daugh- ters came to'Canada, and Miss Patteson fMrs.'R1gbyl took up teaching as her life-work 3 for a short time she was on the staff of Miss Machin's well-known school in Quebec, and for many years she was Governess in the family of the late I-Ion. G. W. Allan, Chancellor of Trinity Univer- ty, in 1888 she became the First Lady Principal of the newly formed St. I-Iilda's College. St. I-Iilda's College, founded by the Rev. C. W. IC. Ilody, second Provost of Trinity College, the pioneer in Canada of the Residential College for women, was started in October 1888, in a small and humble way. A house in Euclid Ave. was opened by Miss Patteson with two resi- dent, and two non-resident pupils 5 but after some anxious years, success dawned on the little College-success largely due to the faith, wisdom and ability of the Lady Principal. The original house became too small. St. Hilda's took possession ofthe houses in Shaw street, and in April 1899 the foundation stone of the present building was laid by