Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Thomas, Hilda Louise
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1928-2005
History
Hilda Louise Thomas (nee Halpin) was born June 23, 1928 in Kimberley, BC. Thomas attended the University of British Columbia, where she received a B.A. in 1948 and an MA in 1965. She went on to become a Senior Instructor in the Department of English, where she taught for 30 years.
Thomas was an active member of the New Democratic Party and its predecessor, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) from 1951 until the end of her life. She ran for city council in 1970, and for the provincial NDP in 1972, 1975, 1979 and 1983. She also ran for nomination in the Federal NDP. Among other party activities, she served on the executive of the Vancouver Point Grey, and on the executive and council of both the provincial and federal parties. She was a chair of the Federal Participation of Women Committee, and active member of the BC Womens Rights Committee (WRC).
Thomas was also an active community activist. She was a socialist, feminist, environmentalist and anti-war activist. She was heavily involved in protesting the Vietnam War, and was Chair of the Vietnam Action Committee. Later she was active in protesting the Gulf War and Iraqi sanctions, as well as on behalf of Palestinians. In 1988 she helped found Everywomans Health Clinic, the first freestanding abortion clinic in British Columbia. She was also a founding member of the Endowment Lands Regional Park Committee, which worked to preserve Pacific Spirit Park as a Regional Park.
She died in Vancouver in 2005, survived by her husband, Philip J. Thomas, and three children.