June Callwood April 14, 2007

June Callwood was one of the Canadian public figures who seemed immortal to me. Like Trudeau, Pierre Berton and even Don Harron, she was around long before I was born and continued to be active in the public sphere as I passed from childhood to adulthood. Like the St. Lawrence River or the Rocky Mountains she seemed to a part of the natural scenery of Canada. Having said this I never really was aware of her many achievements, beyond the fact that she was a social activist and appeared on the CBC. Growing up she seemed famous for being famous. In reality she was a woman of remarkable achievement of which I am only now aware of as the media commemorates her life. From the CBC:

a founding member of the Writers' Union of Canada, the Writers' Development Trust, Canadian PEN, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, the president of a prostitutes' community organization and a bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

I hope that it's not too trite to say wow, but "Wow!" On top of it all she was a respected journalist and the author of 30 books. She survived poverty, severe depression and battled cancer in her final years. There are few public figures that I find admirable but she is definitely one of them.