She excelled academically, finishing valedictorian at Templeton Secondary in the class of 1965.
After graduating from UBC with a Bachelor of Commerce, she was selected for a tour across Canada as preparation for civil service. Upon completing the tour, she was on track to accept a posting in Milan as a foreign trade commissioner but was instead reassigned to Ottawa where she worked for a year before returning to the west coast.
Concurrently, she married Chad Whyte at 23. Shortly thereafter, they relocated from Vancouver to acreage in Pitt Meadows in the early 1970’s.
She worked at the Hospital Employees Union for close to 20 years, returning to UBC to study and earn her law degree in the early 1990’s.
As for family life, she gave birth to and helped raise three children amidst professional demands: Zak in 1981, Tai in 1983, and her favorite daughter Azia in 1986.
After some years working at a firm in labor law, she returned to arbitration and finished out her career at the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC, retiring in 2007. She was held in high esteem and much lauded by her colleagues.
With her scotch drinking days behind her (J&B on the rocks), she enjoyed numerous family vacations and birthday dinners, shopping, travelling, collecting wine, Estonian chocolate, romance novels, celebrity gossip, cute dogs and was always in search of a good deal.
While she was typically reserved, introverted and extolled the virtues of defensive driving, she would become quite vocal and animated at the mention of politicians she disliked and uninvited guests including but not limited to fruit flies, rodents, and ladybugs.
Not one to speak much about herself, she was in many ways an epitome of steadiness. Even during her golden years, the consistency of her daily routine was remarkable. Notable features of her routine included her morning orange, decaf coffee and gym classes up to five days a week.
While she excelled academically and was dedicated during her career, she was practical, a loyal mother and generous provider for her family.
After a brief, shocking, and aggressive bout with cancer, Lucille passed away peacefully late October 20, 2020.
She was predeceased by Chad in 2015 and is survived by her three loving children.
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