Claire Yale
Claire Yale (1903–1997) was a Canadian socialite, philanthropist, and advocate for preserving local history. At 14, she inherited the Yale Islands from her father, Arthur Yale, and used the family land as a summer home.
She gave about three acres of Yale Islands land to the city of Saint-Eustache to create a public park, and she helped save Saint-Eustache’s City Hall by securing grants. The historic path on the Yale Islands was renamed the Claire Yale Ecological Path in her honor.
Claire Yale founded the Historical Society of Saint-Eustache and the Société d’Histoire Régionale of Deux-Montagnes, which awards the Claire-Yale Prize to people who work to preserve heritage. She also co-founded a real estate investment company, Compagnie des Terrains Champlain Ltée, with cousins.
She lived on the Yale Islands and in Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal most of her life. In 1924 she briefly married her chauffeur, Joseph Lacourse, but they divorced a few months later.
Yale died in 1997 in Montreal and was buried at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery. She had a son, John Yale (Jean-Paul), who became an artist in London, and her godsons included Pierre-Paul Yale and Jean-François Yale.
This page was last edited on 1 February 2026, at 21:45 (CET).