Former NDP leader Jack Layton died a year ago today.

Layton’s family will bury his ashes at the Necropolis Cemetery in Cabbagetown in a private ceremony today. A new headstone has been created to mark his burial place. It’s made of pink Laurentian marble, honouring Jack’s Quebec roots, and is crowned by a bust created by his widow, Olivia Chow.

A memorial will be held at Nathan Philips Square in Toronto beginning this afternoon. Other rallies are planned across the country.

Layton’s family has never revealed the type of cancer that led to his death. Layton had earlier been treated for prostate cancer, but it was a different form that killed him.