Mona Parsons Foster

The story of Acadia Ladies’ Seminary graduate Mona Parsons Foster is one of the most compelling in Acadia’s long history. Mona Parsons grew up in the Annapolis Valley in the early part of the 20^th century, engaging her talents as an actress in several productions at Acadia and attending the Conservatory of Music and Fine Arts. After a time in New York performing as a chorus girl, the beautiful and elegant young Parsons left the theatre world, graduated from nursing school and found work with a Park Avenue doctor.

She met and married Willem Leonhardt, a Dutch businessman and millionaire, and they moved to Holland just prior to the outbreak of World War II. When the Nazis invaded Holland in May 1940, the young couple joined the Dutch underground and, at great personal risk, successfully sheltered Allied airman in their country home.

In 1941, Mona Parsons was taken into custody by the German Gestapo. She was originally sentenced to death, but this was commuted to a life sentence. Refusing to cooperate with the enemy, she spent four years labouring at Nazi prison camps before staging a dramatic escape in March 1945. She then began an unbelievable journey on foot back to her adopted homeland of Holland.

What followed was the stuff of movies. She skillfully eluded capture by the Germans using a variety of disguises and personas. Eventually, she made her way to the Dutch border, where she was taken in by Canadian troops. Mona was subsequently presented with citations from Britain and the United States for her courage in sheltering members of the Allied forces.