
Ida Mary Chaloner, (1921 – 2019) was born in Gilbert Plains, Manitoba and moved to Burlington in 1929. Ida served in the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service during WWII and she was one of the last Canadian Wrens. After graduating from the Ontario College of Art in 1950 , she worked at J. Walter Thompson for several years, before joining the family’s operation of Pow Wow Point Lodge, Huntsville, Ontario from 1955-1969. She enjoyed working at the University of Guelph until she retired and returned to her love of plein-air and portrait painting. Her great appreciation of the natural world and being a non-driver inspired her strong support for the Yorklands. She saw it as “our bit of country in the city”. She believed cultural and natural heritage at this landmark heritage site was important for all ages and our future.