Anmore will pay tribute to one of its founding fathers on Sunday, November 3.

The village will be renamed Spirit Park (1009 Ravenswood Drive.) has Dr. Hal Weinberg’s Spiritual Park during a special ceremony that will begin at 1 p.m. A new sign for the park will also be unveiled along with a special exhibit featuring Weinberg’s photo and a dedication plaque in the new community hub.

Weinberg died in January following a brief illness. He was 90 years old.

Anmore’s first mayor remembered as ‘a kind, caring man’ who ‘loved everything the village stood for’ https://t.co/6QqJLYO2TV

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Weinberg was a renowned neurophysiologist at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Burnaby when he and his wife Linda moved to Anmore in the 1970s. The village was still an unincorporated rural enclave with no water service or connection. public transportation with the rest of Metro Vancouver.

In 1987, Weinberg and his wife, along with their neighbor Bob Hunter, founder of the environmental organization Greenpeace, and his wife Bobbi, led efforts to incorporate the community as an independent village.

He then became the first mayor of Anmore, a position he held until 2009.

During his tenure, Weinberg connected the village to the regional water system as well as public transit. He also founded Anmore’s annual celebration in honor of newspaper pioneer Margaret “Ma” Murray, who lived there with her husband, George, as they began to expand their publishing business.

“He loved Anmore and everything it stood for,” said a statement posted on the village’s website shortly after Weinberg’s death.

“Hal’s vision was to preserve Anmore as a small rural area where people could continue to live relatively freely.”

Dawn McKenna, former executive director of the Down’s Syndrome Research Foundation in Burnaby, who worked closely with Weinberg during the 13 years he served on the organization’s board, said he “was a man very kind and caring. He was passionate about his work and trying to make a difference.

Weinberg was among SFU’s first professors. He established its brain behavior laboratory and led its research ethics office for 15 years before retiring in 2012.

The following year, Weinberg received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contributions to the building of British Columbia, and in 2014 he was awarded the Order of British Columbia hands of the lieutenant governor. Judith Guichon.

Sunday ceremonies take place until 3 p.m.

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