What鈥檚 in a name?

It鈥檚 a question Bonnie Stewart has pondered her entire life.

Having been named after the papergirl that delivered the Vancouver Sun to her family home in Richmond in the early 1950s, Stewart鈥檚 first name was always a running joke in her family, especially after she married and changed her last name to Stewart 鈥� the exact same name as the papergirl.

鈥淲hen I was born, the third child, my mother wanted to name me Christina, as her favourite brother in Wales was Christopher,鈥� Stewart explained.

鈥淢y father insisted that they call me Bonnie, after the lovely lass that delivered the newspaper to Wallace Road.鈥�

Now, more than 60 years later, Stewart has finally met the bona fide Bonnie she was named after, thanks to a common connection 鈥� and another Bonnie 鈥� at the Walnut Grove Pool.

Bonnie Tulloch, 25, has worked as a lifeguard at the community centre pool for eight years, and has become well acquainted with Stewart, who swims there almost every day.

鈥淲e鈥檝e always said hello, it鈥檚 always been a sort of laugh because Bonnie is not a common name,鈥� Stewart said.

鈥淚 know a lot of the lifeguards there, but for some reason, Bonnie and I really hit it off so many years ago. She was just so bubbly and so positive and always smiling.鈥�

The two instantly bonded over their matching names, but it wasn鈥檛 until last month that they discovered just how entangled their roots really are.

鈥淥ne day I was talking to Bonnie (Stewart) about how people automatically assume that I am Irish because I have red hair, even though my name is really Scottish,鈥� Tulloch said.

鈥淎nd then this Bonnie in the water says to me, 鈥榊ou know, everybody thinks I鈥檓 Scottish but I鈥檓 not, because Bonnie Stewart is a very Scottish name, but it is my married name.鈥�

鈥淎nd I said to her, 鈥楻eally? My grandma鈥檚 maiden name is Stewart, and she鈥檚 a Bonnie too.鈥欌��

It seemed like just a coincidence at first, but the more Stewart thought about it, the stranger it looked. The next day at the pool, she asked Tulloch if there is any chance her grandma was once a newspaper carrier in Richmond.

鈥淚 was thinking to myself, 鈥榓ll those family drives and family discussions, I remember Delta was mentioned, but was Richmond?鈥欌�� Tulloch said.

鈥淪o I went and phoned my grandpa, and I said, 鈥楪randpa, did Grandma have a paper route?鈥� And he said she had two growing up. So I ran back into the pool and I told Bonnie, yes!鈥�

Three weeks ago, the ladies finally met, and within minutes Stewart knew she had found the 鈥渞eal deal.鈥�

Grandma Bonnie, now known by her married name, Bonnie Jackson, could still recite the names of Stewart鈥檚 childhood neighbours the Hayes, the Stenes and the Olafsons, after spending five years delivering the newspaper to them, and collecting the $1.25 monthly fee.

鈥淚t just brings up so many memories,鈥� said Jackson, 75, who is a retired teacher in 91原创

鈥淚 had up to 400 papers (to deliver) for about six months, but most of the time I had 100. I would pick up my papers at Steveston Highway and No. 2 Road and ride my bike down to No. 1 Road, and come back and then go down Railway Avenue. It was a lot of territory.鈥�

At some point along her route, Jackson would have stopped and spoken with Stewart鈥檚 father, and clearly left a lasting impression. But by 1956, Jackson had moved out of the area, meaning baby Bonnie Stewart would never get to meet her namesake.

鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of surreal thinking that a stranger is named after the same person you are, especially when there is a generational gap,鈥� Tulloch said.

鈥淏ut you know, I have to tell you, it doesn鈥檛 surprise me one bit that someone would name their daughter after my grandma, because of her character and type of person.

鈥淚 am so proud to be named after her.鈥�

In 1966, when Jackson had four children under the age of five, she enrolled at Simon Fraser University in their teaching program, and in 1968 began teaching at Otter Elementary in Aldergrove. Through her 37 years with the 91原创 School District, she also taught at Bradshaw Elementary, Alice Brown Elementary and 91原创 Meadows Elementary.

Tulloch jokes that she has had to share her grandmother with many other students and parents in the community over the years, but sharing her with Stewart has been the most rewarding.

鈥淔or me, what it really provided that I haven鈥檛 experienced for a while, was the warmth of that community connection,鈥� Tulloch said.

鈥淵ou grow up and people are changing and moving out of their houses and you kind of lose touch and that feeling of connection.

鈥淚t was just affirmation that everything I knew about my grandma, the quality of person she is, was true. But also, just the honour to share that privilege with somebody else. And to think that history is shared that you didn鈥檛 know existed between you.

鈥淚t was amazing just to sit there and think, 鈥極h my gosh, this person who I had barely known at the pool, knows all of this about my grandma.鈥欌��

The three ladies spent hours sitting around Jackson鈥檚 kitchen table in her Willoughby home, flipping through old photo albums and sharing memories of Lulu Island.

鈥淚t鈥檚 almost like having a younger sister, because she鈥檚 too old to be my daughter,鈥� Jackson said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like finding a friend. There are so many similar connections, and she relates to many of the things I do, and remembers so many things about Richmond in the day.鈥�

All three agree that it must have been fate that brought them together. There have been several times over the past three decades where the ladies have almost, but not quite met.

When she was younger, Tulloch was a newspaper carrier for the 91原创 Times, and her circulation manager, who she never got to meet, was Stewart.

And even more bizarre, Tulloch delivered the papers across the street from Stewart鈥檚 home, which was also only one street over from where Jackson lives. And prior to that, Stewart lived in a house just down the road from 91原创 Meadows, where Jackson taught for the majority of her career.

鈥淗ow is it possible that we have been swirling around each other for thirty years 鈥� but are just now finding each other?鈥� Stewart said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 something that I grew up with, hearing that I was named after the papergirl, and then when I got married, it picked up the story again because now I had the proper name 鈥� the absolute papergirl鈥檚 name.

鈥淚t was always at the top of my mind because I鈥檝e relived it so many times. It鈥檚 just so 鈥� I can鈥檛 believe it 鈥� it鈥檚 so delightful.鈥�