MALLORYTOWN – The Ontario board that oversees the naming of features is reviewing a proposal to name an island in the St. Lawrence River after Jeannette Runciman.
The wife of retired Sen. Bob Runciman died in February 2020 after she was hit in the Brockville General Hospital parking lot by a vehicle backing out of a parking space.
The Ontario Geographic Names Board received the proposal to name a small island at the very east end of a chain of islands off Grenadier Island (next to Peel Island).
The isle is about 49 meters long (162 feet), 22 meters (71 feet) at its widest point and is about 565 square meters (6,086 square feet) in area.
A description of the proposal says it’s “in memory of Jeannette Runciman who loved the island, the river and the 1000 Islands area.”
The board first needs to make sure there are no local names associated with the island before making a recommendation to Natural Resources Minister John Yakabuski.
The ministry is undertaking a survey until April 1 on Jeannette Runciman Island.