Submitted by Lynn Gray – Club Foundation Chair
Courtenay Rotary Club’s June 20th Induction dinner, became more special with a posthumous Paul Harris Fellow Award presented to Past President Peter Leo Anderton, by his family. Born in 1885 on the Anderton Road family farm in Comox, Leo attended elementary school in Comox. After a short 3 year hiatus to attend high school in Victoria, Leo returned to the valley, married in 1909, and in 1911 founded the Comox Valley’s first Real Estate and Insurance Company. He turned it over to his son, Past President Wilf Anderton, who subsequently sold the firm (and daughter Audrey Craig) in 1976 to what is now Waypoint Insurance.
Courtenay Rotary Club’s June 20th Induction dinner, became more special with a posthumous Paul Harris Fellow Award presented to Past President Peter Leo Anderton, by his family. Born in 1885 on the Anderton Road family farm in Comox, Leo attended elementary school in Comox. After a short 3 year hiatus to attend high school in Victoria, Leo returned to the valley, married in 1909, and in 1911 founded the Comox Valley’s first Real Estate and Insurance Company. He turned it over to his son, Past President Wilf Anderton, who subsequently sold the firm (and daughter Audrey Craig) in 1976 to what is now Waypoint Insurance.
Leo was active in many organizations. A Courtenay Rotary Charter Member and first Club Secretary (1936), he also served as Club President in 1946-47, was a charter member of the BPOE (Elks), and member of the Native Sons of Canada, and the Knights of Columbus. Leo was a charter member of the Board of Trade, later the Chamber of Commerce, served as alderman for the City of Courtenay for several terms and as a trustee for the local School District.
Past President Audrey Craig fondly remembered her grand father as a
“kindhearted jovial individual who always had time for his grandchildren and never seemed to complain about anything! Peter Leo Anderton truly exemplified the notion of giving back to his community”.
Accepting this PHF was great grandson, Craig Rennison, 4th generation Rotarian in our 81 year old Club.
Past President Audrey Craig continued to make the ceremony even more special by presenting a Paul Harris Fellow Award to
“someone else I know very well, in fact I was one of the first people to lay eyes on him. It’s to the great grandson of Peter Leo Anderton, my son Craig Rennison. Craig’s amazing sense of humour and love of family and community are two of his most endearing qualities. Craig grew up with strong role models, one of them being his grandfather Wilf Anderton, also a past president of this Rotary Club. Wilf would be bursting with pride in the knowledge that Craig is a member of Courtenay Rotary and will serve again this year as the Director of Community Service. Giving back to our community is a definite part of Craig’s DNA. Your entire family is so proud of you.”