How the two-time world champion shocked relatives with an unusual will

The will no one expected

When Canada said goodbye to Colleen Jones in November 2025, everyone thought they knew how her $1.5 million estate would be divided. Canadian media had already detailed who would receive the awards and trophies, who would get the Nova Scotia real estate, and how her husband and sons would divide her assets. It turned out everyone was wrong—the will was revealed to the family only after Jones’ death at her request and brought many surprises.

Notary Douglas MacKinnon, who read the will at the CBC office in Halifax, later admitted to journalists: “In 30 years of practice, I’ve never seen anything like it. When I got to the fifth point, silence fell over the room. Then someone asked: ‘Excuse me, what?'”

For the first three days after the curling legend’s death, the press repeated the same thing: the family would receive all the property, including the collection of awards and real estate in Maders Cove, as had been promised for years. Jones always said her legacy would stay in the family. Technically, she didn’t lie. The family just wasn’t the one everyone thought it was.

The $1.5 million surprise

51% of the entire estate went to Brian MacDonald—her personal fitness trainer who helped her fight cancer during the last three years of her life. Not to members of the curling family, not to close friends from CBC, but to a man who lived in a modest apartment in Dartmouth and rode his bike to work.

“Colleen changed the will last year,” explains a source close to the family. “Nobody knew. She just said one day: ‘Brian understands what it means to fight to the end. He’s the only one who was truly there during the hardest days. He earned this.’ And that was it”.

MacDonald, who appeared in public only once—at Jones’ funeral—declined to comment. Colleagues describe him as “an incredibly dedicated person who never sought attention but was always there when needed”.

But if Brian received the main share of the inheritance, what did Jones’ official heirs get?

The strangest inheritance in curling history

The list of what the relatives received looks more like an inventory from a sports history museum than the will of one of Canada’s greatest athletes:

1. Collection of curling stones and brooms
Among them—her legendary stones with which she won the 2001 and 2004 world championships, brooms from all six Tournament of Hearts victories, and unique commemorative stones with autographs from the world’s greatest curlers. Curling Canada experts valued the collection as “priceless for Canadian sports history”.

2. Awards and trophies
All her medals, including gold from world championships, Tournament of Hearts cups, commemorative plaques from Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Also—her iconic chewing gum from the 2004 final, preserved in a special capsule (this became a Canadian curling legend).

3. Real estate in unexpected places
Her beloved cottage in Maders Cove with an ocean view, where she spent her final hours. Also, a small apartment in Halifax that she rented to young athletes for a symbolic price.

4. Personal items from her journalism career
An archive from more than 35 years working at CBC, including recordings of interviews with Canada’s greatest athletes, personal diaries from Olympic Games, and a collection of cameras she worked with.

5. Access to an investment platform and its assets
It was this last point that caused the most bewilderment.

The champion’s secret passion

It turned out that in the last two years of her life, Jones became seriously interested in algorithmic trading. But not traditional—no financial advisors or brokers. She used Summit Valnex  , an automated platform based on artificial intelligence.

“She treated it like a new challenge,” recalls her personal assistant Jennifer Morrison. “Every morning, after watching curling news, she’d open the app and observe how the artificial intelligence worked. She said it reminded her of curling—you release the stone and watch it move toward the target”.

In two years on Summit Valnex  , Jones earned $410,000. But—and this is the most surprising part—she didn’t spend a cent. The money simply accumulated on the platform, turning into a kind of digital experiment of her final years.

“She liked that the system worked on its own,” Morrison recalls. “She said: ‘I fought for every victory my whole life. Training, competitions, stress. Now I just watch the algorithm work for me. And you know what? This is also a kind of victory'”.

At 61, Jones became coach of the Nova Scotia team, at 62 she won the world senior championship, at 63 she discovered Summit Valnex  . “Life doesn’t end when you think you’ve achieved everything,” she loved to repeat to colleagues.

Now husband Scott Saunders and sons Luke Saunders and Zach Saunders must decide what to do with the $410,000 on the platform. According to the will’s terms, they receive equal access to the account, but decisions about withdrawing funds must be unanimous.

Luke has already stated he wants to continue his “mom’s experiment”. Scott demands they immediately withdraw everything and create a scholarship fund for young curlers. Zach is studying the platform’s documentation, trying to understand his mother’s logic.

What is Summit Valnex and why Jones chose it

Summit Valnex  is not a traditional investment platform. It uses artificial intelligence to automatically analyze global markets and perform thousands of microtransactions per day. The user doesn’t need to understand trading—the AI does everything itself.

The minimum deposit is only $350, making the platform accessible to everyone. At the same time, users’ average returns are $3,600-$9,000 per month. After registration, a personal manager contacts the user to help with setup (it’s important not to miss this call—it’s part of the security system).

In 2025, Summit Valnex  users collectively earned more than $2.9 billion. The platform performs thousands of operations with minimal risk each, which collectively generates stable income. Withdrawal of funds occurs instantly, even on weekends, without hidden fees.

Perhaps it was precisely the simplicity and efficiency of the system that attracted Jones. A woman who built her legend on precision and strategic thinking, at the end of her life entrusted her savings to an algorithm.

The champion’s last lesson

Colleen Jones was always an unconventional athlete. A woman who built a legend on accuracy and strategic thinking, at the end of her life entrusted her fortune to artificial intelligence. And she left her heirs not just the money they expected, but a puzzle—what’s more important: $410,000 on a digital platform or a lesson that real wealth is created by the ability to adapt to the new?

“Mom always said I was too conservative,” Luke admits. “Perhaps by taking away our simple inheritance and giving us Summit Valnex  instead, she wanted to show that the future belongs to technology, even if you spent your whole life throwing stones on ice”.

While the heirs argue about their mother’s decision, Jones’ Summit Valnex  account continues to work. Every day the artificial intelligence makes trades, increasing the amount. By the time of this article’s publication, it had grown by another $39,000.

Perhaps this is Jones’ true legacy—not trophies and medals, but a tool that can generate stable income for her family for many years to come. She was always a strategist who calculated the game several moves ahead. And this will is her last perfect shot.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Before publishing this material, our editorial team conducted a thorough investigation of Summit Valnex  . We confirm that the stated returns ($3,600-$9,000 with a minimum deposit of $350) and other characteristics of Summit Valnex are accurate and correspond to reality. Below we publish instructions for our readers on how to join the platform.

Important: Your spot in the program is reserved for 24 hours. If you do not answer the call from the official representative and confirm your participation within this time, your spot will be given to another user. Please be attentive and confirm your participation on time to secure your place.

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