Virginia Greene, a veteran of both B.C.’s private and public sectors, died from ovarian cancer December 2.
She was 66.
Greene stepped down as president and CEO of the BC Business Council in July, a position she held since December 2007. The move represented her return to the private sector.
Before then, Greene had been in the premier’s office as deputy minister for intergovernmental affairs following a stint as deputy minister of tourism, sport and arts.
She landed those roles after an unsuccessful run in Vancouver-Fairview for the BC Liberals in 2004.
Greene first came to prominence in B.C. when she was promoted from a mid-level government role to assistant deputy minister of tourism in 1983. There, she successfully marketed Expo 86 to the world.
Post-Expo, Greene co-founded, expanded and then sold Go Direct Marketing to U.S. advertising giant J. Walter Thompson in 2004 for an undisclosed sum.
She also held the role of chairwoman for the B.C. and Yukon branch of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
BC’s first lieutenant-governor of Asian descent, David See-Chai Lam, died from prostate cancer on November 22.
He was 87.
Hong Kong-born, Lam emigrated with his family to B.C. after the Second World War and became a Canadian citizen in 1972.
He became a successful real estate developer and was well known for his philanthropy.
In 1986, he helped found the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival.
Governor General Jeanne Sauvé officially appointed Lam as B.C.’s Lieutenant Governor in 1988. He served until 1995.
The Coquitlam campus of Douglas College is named for Lam, as is a management research library at the UBC’s Sauder School of Business.
Both Lam and his deceased wife, Dorothy, were named to the Order of B.C. in 1995 to mark their many charitable activities.
The same year, Lam was elevated from being a member of the Order of Canada to being an officer.
Vancouver’s film and television scene would not be what it is today were it not for Stephen Cannell.
Cannell died from melanoma complications on September 30.
He was 69.
Cannell established his reputation as a TV producer in the 1970s when he created the Emmy Award-winning TV series The Rockford Files, which ran for six years.
He also wrote for shows such as Colombo.
Cannell went on to produce or co-create more than 40 shows, including The A-Team, 21 Jump Street and Wiseguy.
In 1986, he moved his Stingray TV series to Vancouver, beginning a long association with the city.
In 1989, he built North Shore Studios to house his productions. That studio is still in operation.
Late in his career, Cannell took to acting and had a recurring role on ABC’s The Castle.
He also wrote 16 books and became a bestselling author. His last book in the Shane Scully series, the Prostitute’s Ball, was released soon after his death.