A state funeral has been planned to honour the life of former lieutenant-governor Marilyn Trenholme Counsell.
Trenholme Counsell died June 17.
The funeral will be Friday, June 26 at 2 p.m. in the Marjorie Young Bell Convocation Hall at Mount Allison University in Sackville. It will be open to the public.
A reception will follow at Mount Allison’s Purdy Crawford Centre for the Arts.
Trenholme Counsell is being remembered as an advocate and leader who dedicated her life to serving her community, province and country.
She was born in Baie-Verte in 1933 and later defied the odds by becoming a family doctor at a time when it was rare for women to enter the field.
Trenholme Counsell entered public service in 1987, being elected as the Liberal MLA for Tantramar and later serving as the province’s first minister of state for the family.
She was appointed lieutenant-governor in 1997 and served in the role until 2003.
At that time, she was appointed to Canada’s Senate, where she served until 2008.
Trenholme Counsell was an advocate for literacy and early childhood education throughout her life.
She was instrumental in developing the Born to Read program, a provincewide initiative promoting early literacy, and co-chaired the New Brunswick Literacy Strategy.
She also served as president of the Literacy Coalition of New Brunswick.
Anyone who wants to express condolences can sign an online condolence book here.
