KELOWNA, B.C. — Flags were lowered Friday outside the law courts in Kelowna, B.C., to honour a judge who is being remembered for her dedication to volunteering.
Anne Wallace, who presided at provincial court trials in the city for 10 years, died Thursday in hospital. She was 61.
Friends said she sufferered a brain hemorrhage Monday night after a full day at work and was put on life support.
“It was sudden, unpreventable, untreatable and unexpected,” said Wallace’s colleague, Judge Jane Cartwright.
“We’re heartbroken and devastated. She really was the heart and soul of our chambers. She was a bright spark and a ball of energy, enthusiasm and generosity.”
Wallace was organizing a Christmas party and looking forward to working part time next year. She and her husband Russ Impett planned to celebrate their 30th anniversary in Paris.
Her family, including her three sisters and a brother, were at her side in hospital Thursday.
They agreed to donate her organs, Cartwright said, adding that will save the lives of at least four people.
“They were asked if they need time to think about it and everyone said ‘No, it’s exactly what she would have wanted.’ It’s very Anne to want to benefit other people."
Wallace was a Crown prosecutor and a Queen’s counsel in Victoria before she was appointed a provincial court judge in Kelowna.
At her swearing-in ceremony in November 2005, then-chief judge Hugh Stansfield described her as “diligent, thorough, fair and dedicated.”
Her father George Scott Wallace led the B.C. Conservative Party in the 1970s. Her family believed in public service, and she volunteered for many charities.
Wallace planned to travel and volunteer more after she started working less, Cartwright said.
“She’d volunteer to work for the most difficult of assignments. She would be the first to volunteer, for everything.”
Wallace leaves behind her husband and two daughters, who are in their 20s. (Kelowna Daily Courier)
