Trail-blazing B.C. politician Grace McCarthy dies at age 89
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 surrounded by her family Wednesday night after a lengthy battle with a brain tumour.
McCarthy began her career in the flower business in the mid-1940s, when she opened her first store and later expanded her business to several stores.
The statement says at the age of 17, McCarthy cashed in a $50 war bond and opened her own flower shop in Vancouver, Grayce Florists, which she developed into five retail locations across the city.