Joan Gillatt
Joan Gillatt nee Gower (April 16, 1924 – Aug. 10, 2017) was born in Victoria, B.C. She worked her way through university, became a bank clerk, and then a wartime replacement worker for the provincial government as a lab assistant. She became a steward for the new B.C. Government Employees Association (BCGEU) and Vice-President and then President of the Victoria Branch. She was a skillful negotiator and the only woman on the Executive for a number of years and fought hard to establish women’s equality in the leadership field. In 1960, she married Jock Gillatt, a widower. They moved to Duncan and raised three daughters. Joan taught for a year, was a school board trustee for 10, and served several terms on city council. She received numerous honours over lifetime including a BCGEU lifetime membership (1997), a key to the city of Duncan (2005.) and Queen Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).