The Mayor of Central Huron, Jim Ginn, is hesitant to change a local monument dedicated to writer Alice Munro, despite shocking new revelations about her late husband, Gerald Fremlin. Ginn stated he was surprised by the allegations but would consider amending the monument if public pressure increased.
Andrea Robin Skinner, Munro’s daughter, revealed in an essay that Fremlin sexually assaulted her in the mid-1970s when she was nine, and continued to harass her until she became a teenager. Skinner said she informed Munro about the abuse in her 20s, but it remained a secret, with Munro choosing to stay married to Fremlin until his death in 2013.
Munro, who passed away in May at the age of 92, has several public tributes in Huron County, including a monument in Clinton, where she lived with Fremlin. It was suggested that Munro might have stayed with Fremlin for financial reasons, as she only began earning significant money after winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013.
Fremlin was convicted of indecent assault in 2005 but received a suspended sentence and probation. Skinner’s essay details her estrangement from Munro, who she says sided with Fremlin and viewed the abuse as a personal injury.
Written By: K. Milhomens