Memorial Commission

We are excited to be a part of the process of creating a memorial piece commissioned by Veronica Moloney of her grandfather Dr. Peter Joseph Moloney that she wanted to include on the cover of a biographical book that she has created.   

“I was aware of the work of my grandfather in a general way, and that (his work) was very admirable so I knew that I must find a way to write the book.”

Veronica wanted a beautiful cover for the book. Her initial thoughts were to commission a sculpture, but it was beyond her means. This led her to think of what her neighbourhood jewellery shop, Jewel Envy, could create. After consultations and discussions of options our goldsmith Lauren Hanham created a gold plated brass memorial piece for the cover.  

The cover of the first biography ever written of the historically significant work of a Canadian pioneering vaccine researcher, Dr. Peter Joseph Moloney features the commissioned piece created at Jewel Envy.

“The greatest thing I learned is that it was my grandfather who made the world's first large amount of insulin in 1922.”

Following the discovery of insulin in 1921 word had spread rapidly that Toronto had insulin and requests for it were pouring in from all over the world. Attempts at producing a large amount of insulin were not succeeding, leading to great frustration. Dr. Peter Joseph Moloney's contributions solved the problem, helping to create several thousands of doses to ship around the world.

Back cover of the book, you will notice that the image of Dr. Peter Joseph Moloney on the right is the one used in the memorial piece created by Lauren Hanham. 

The book has text in Dr. Moloney's words, except where there are brief explanations, many photos, documents and a brief authoritative biography written by a University of Toronto professor who knew him well,
Msgr. Edward A. Synan, F. R. S. C.

The book includes Dr. Moloney's significant works along with a brief family history, influences, and acquintances. Veronica Moloney is currently working on a more in-depth biography that will be available on amazon.ca later this summer.

For more information about the life of Dr. Peter Joseph Moloney check out the website!