VANCOUVER — Grace McCarthy, a former Social Credit cabinet minister in British Columbia who blazed a trail for women in politics and business, has died. She was 89.
A statement issued by her family says McCarthy died peacefully at her Vancouver home Wednesday night after a lengthy battle with a brain tumor.
The statement says McCarthy died surrounded by her family.
Called "Amazing Grace" by her fellow politicians, McCarthy entered the political arena in 1966 after a highly successful career as a florist and an elected Vancouver park board representative.
She began her career in the flower business in 1946, when she opened her first store and later expanded her business to several stores.
McCarthy credited her good friend Jimmy Pattison, who would later become a billionaire businessman, with helping her win an election in 1975 after he offered one of his employees as a volunteer to run her campaign.
After leaving politics, McCarthy founded the CHILD (Children with Intestinal and Liver Disorders) Foundation and helped raise millions of dollars for diseases that previously had little awareness.
McCarthy said she was inspired in her volunteer work by her granddaughter, a nurse, who suffers from Crohn's disease.
