It has been so many years since I saw my cousin Peter. My dad is Graeme Brownlee and we were related through my Grandma Nancy Van Nostrand Hurlburt (Brownlee)  As a girl I remember how we made Maple Syrup at Peter and Janet's and of course the many family reunions. May you rest in peace Peter and rise to Glory. Much love to all. xx

John, Sarah and Peter ....... I was your Dad's secretary many years ago at Toronto General Hospital.  I am so saddened to read that he passed away.  You know how as you go through life and there's one or two people who impact your life forever?  Well your Dad was one of those people for me.  I was a young girl out of college when I started to work for him and he taught me so much .... work ethic, patience, empathy, how to be a mentor and so many character traits of how to be a good person.  Throughout my life and my working career, I have often fondly referred to your Dad as that guy, the mentor who helped mold me as a person and I'm forever grateful.  
I have many memories of work at TGH, his involvement with the Aesculapian Club, typing assignments for John, learning about cows, naming cows and your farm life.  
I would appreciate it if you could let me know the date of the Celebration of Life.
You were blessed with a wonderful Dad.  May he rest in peace.
Patti Hodgkinson

I was saddened to see Peter's name in the Globe Obituary page. I didn't know him well but do remember him when he and Charlie Berkett shared a medical office in Maple. My name in those long-ago days was Ann Sellen. 
I last saw Peter and enjoyed conversation at the memorial/funeral of the van Nostrand neighbour, Dr. John Barrie. John and Joan Barrie were old friends of my family.

I am so sorry Peter is no longer with us. I remember both him and Charlie with affection.
My sincere condolences

Ann (Crichton-Harris formerly Sellen)

I met Peter for the first time one day when I was up visiting with his father Fred in the 1960s. Following in Fred's footsteps, he was the only child who worked as both a doctor (largely in the city) and later as a farmer (in the "country") running the "Lower Place" after Fred's passing. Achieving a balance between urban and rural life was not easy - on either side - but was a role that influenced many vanNostrands of his generation; and those of his childrens'. 
Peter and Janet were especially kind to my parents - Rachel and Jack - when my sister Alex had a very bad accident on the QEW.  He stayed in contact throughout, and helped bring us all (including Alex) through that difficult period. 

Peter was always a gentleman and will be missed.

One tangible reminder of Peter's legacy will always be Hillary House National Historic Site on Yonge Street in Aurora.  Working with restoration architect Napier Simpson, Peter brought this remarkable place to the attention of the National Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, leading to the property's designation as a National Historic Site in 1975 because of its architectural significance and its outstanding collection of 19th-century medical instruments and related records.  Peter's great-grandfather, Dr. Robert William Hillary, had purchased this house in 1876 and practised medicine there.  In 1981, Peter played an essential role in ensuring that the house and its collections would be acquired by the Aurora Historical Society which continues to own and operate Hillary House today.  In more recent years, Peter and his late wife Janet continued their interest in the house and its grounds and its continuing life as an innovative and influential National Historic Site and museum

OBITUARY

Albert William Peter van Nostrand

October 8, 1933 – January 29, 2020

Thompson Funeral Home

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