Virna Sheard

Born Virginia Stanton in Cobourg, Canada West, she was raised in Cobourg and Toronto and later married Dr. Charles Sheard. She wrote under the names Virna Sheard and Stanton Sheard, and over time became known as both a poet and a novelist.

Her writing career grew from magazine and newspaper work into books for adults and younger readers. She published novels as well as several poetry collections, and her poems are often noted for their emotional directness, spiritual themes, and gentle attention to family life and loss.

She died in Toronto in 1943. Some sources list her birth year as 1862 rather than 1865, but the most consistent reference found during this search gives April 24, 1862, making the 1865 date uncertain.