13 Facts About Judy LaMarsh

Judy LaMarsh was stricken with pancreatic cancer in 1979 and was given the Order of Canada at her hospital bed.

Judy LaMarsh died a few days short of the 20th anniversary of her first political election victory, in 1980.

Judy LaMarsh worked with the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers in Halifax and then, after studying Japanese in Vancouver, served as a Japanese translator in Intelligence with Japanese-Canadian soldiers.

Judy LaMarsh was called to the Bar of Ontario, and joined her father's law practice in Niagara Falls.

Judy LaMarsh served as Minister of National Health and Welfare and Minister of Amateur Sport from 1963 to 1965, and as Secretary of State for Canada from 1965 to 1968.

Judy LaMarsh retired from politics after Trudeau won the party's leadership.

Judy LaMarsh often took on civil rights cases, including the defense of the Brunswick Four in a prominent LGBT rights case in 1974.

Judy LaMarsh published her political autobiography, entitled Memoirs of a Bird in a Gilded Cage, in 1969, and the book sold very well.

Judy LaMarsh worked as a broadcaster including a part-time job with CBC Radio, hosting This Country in the Morning in 1974.

In December 1979, Judy LaMarsh was rushed to Sunnybrook Medical Centre where she was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer.

Judy LaMarsh's funeral was held in Niagara Falls on October 29,1980.

Judy LaMarsh had six female pallbearers including: Edith Druggan and Florence Rosberg, of Niagara Falls, broadcaster Barbara Frum, British Columbia Judge Nancy Morrison, lawyer Pamela Verill Walker, and Doris Anderson, president of the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women.

Judy LaMarsh was laid to rest next to her parents, at a graveyard that bordered the historic Canadian battleground, Lundy's Lane.