Human Rights A Day

Lucille Johnstone, known as "Tugboat Annie," dies. Lucille Johnstone was born in 1924 in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she lived her whole life. She became a certified general accountant at a time when few women attained professional education, and launched into a 45-year career with RivTow, a male-dominated group of companies that towed barges and boats on the waterways of British Columbia. As she rose through the ranks to president, she gained the nickname “Tugboat Annie.” Her business career also extended to serving on the boards of Expo ’86, Grace Hospital, Vancouver International Airport and the Vancouver Board of Trade. Johnstone was also admired for her community work. She served as chair of the Kwantlen College fund drive and of the Sexual Assault Recovery Anonymous Society. At one time, she also served as executive director and CEO of St. John’s Ambulance. Her business and community work earned Johnstone an honorary doctorate from the University of B.C., the Order of B.C., the YWCA Woman of the