The Town of Innisfil and Big Bay Point community lost a warrior, a champion and a protector of Lake Simcoe earlier this year.
When Mary Jane Brinkos passed away Jan. 29, she left behind a number of legacies, one of which was a wider awareness and appreciation of the health of the lake and a Friday Harbour Resort reshaped by that awareness.
As a director of the Innisfil District Association (IDA), which fought the original Friday Harbour proposal then known as Big Bay Point Resort, a founding member of the Ladies of the Lake, Rescue Lake Simcoe and the Simcoe County Greenbelt Association, Brinkos played a role in the development of the province's Lake Simcoe Protection Plan and in the back-and-forth struggle that transformed plans for the resort.
The end result was a design that preserved more than 200 acres of woodland and wilderness, replanted a grove of endangered butternut trees, created and restored habitat for snakes and turtles, and concentrated development around an environmentally engineered harbour, introducing policies designed to preserve and support the health of the lake.
Friday Harbour Resort held a ceremony on Friday to celebrate the life of Mary Jane Brinkos, who was referred to as its “angel of the lake,” and unveil a plaque along the boardwalk as a permanent memorial.
Family members, including daughter Diana and grandsons Tate and Evan, friends, neighbours and colleagues gathered outside on the boardwalk overlooking Brinkos' beloved Lake Simcoe. They were welcomed by Cheryl Shindruk, executive director of Geranium Homes, and Mario Giampietri, Geranium president and partner.
“In all the people I have known, Mary Jane stands out as the champion of our lake,” said Giampietri. “I first felt the energy that is Mary Jane in 2001. Immediately I knew she was a force to be reckoned with.”
Jim De Gasperis, president and CEO of ConDrain and managing partner at Friday Harbour, met Brinkos for the first time in 2015, when a commitment was made. “The long-term health of Lake Simcoe is our priority within the design of Friday Harbour," he said.
“She understood change will happen," Giampietri said, "but that doesn’t mean you don’t fight for the best outcomes possible. And that she did. Her energy and her tireless efforts to protect the lake resulted in a remarkable legacy of advocacy.”
“Mary Jane definitely was a champion of Lake Simcoe, and so many other events,” said Innisfil Deputy Mayor Dan Davidson, longtime friend. “Lake Simcoe was her main passion.”
“I hope that new residents will ask why, who and what can I do to keep this Lake Simcoe so beautiful," he added.
The memorial was created by artist, landscape architect and designer Mark Schollen, who never met Brinkos but said he understood that the lake was "precious" to her.
On a slab of local stone, a stainless steel image of the lake is inscribed with a memorial to the 'Angel of the Lake', and angled to catch and reflect the light at certain times of day.
The inscription reads in part: “As a long-time resident of the Big Bay Point community, Mary Jane was instrumental in inspiring and advancing the movement to preserve and enhance the health and sustainability of the Lake Simcoe watershed.”
Just beyond the memorial is a view of Lake Simcoe, and the inscription concludes: “You are viewing first hand her remarkable legacy.”
Brinkos’ grandsons were called up to unveil the plaque.
“Tate and Evan, your grandmother changed the world because she believed she could. She never gave up. She made a difference,” Giampietri said.
The ceremony ended with comments by daughter Diana Brinkos, as well as Indigenous drumming and singing by friend Cyndy Vanier.
“As a child, you never really know what your parents do,” said Diana. “I never understood, unfortunately, until she did pass what all those meetings were for.”
Diana thanked everyone for sharing their stories of her mother, as well as Friday Harbour and Geranium for the memorial and celebration for her mom.
“She would be speechless... except we all know Mary Jane; she was never speechless.”
Brinkos was tireless, fearless, outspoken, determined, and passionate.
“We wanted to find a way to honour the memory of our friendship with Mary Jane and the contributions she’s made to Lake Simcoe and the watershed,” Shindruk said later during a gathering in the Beach Club.
Shindruk described the memorial plaque as being "anchored in the water. It’s got that sparkle that Mary Jane had. It’s solid and sturdy, and that’s also reflective of Mary Jane. And it’s permanent."
Geranium also contributed $100,000 to the Lake Simcoe Conservation Foundation in Mary Jane Brinkos’ name to continue her work and advocacy, as well as preserve the health of her beloved lake.
