This notice is from the archives of The Notice Board. Information contained in this notice was accurate at the time of publication but may no longer be so.
The University of Lethbridge extends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Dr. Blaine Thacker (LLD ’06), who passed away on Monday, Feb. 17, 2020 at the age of 79.
Thacker was the University’s second Chair of the Board of Governors, serving from 1974 to 1978. A lawyer by trade, he went on to become a member of Parliament for the Lethbridge riding from 1979 to 1993.
Born in Taber, AB, and raised on a farm near Burdett, Thacker received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and a Bachelor of Law from the University of Alberta. He began his law career as a lawyer with Virtue & Co., later becoming a partner in the firm and handling criminal and civil litigation, commercial contracts, farm practice, real estate, and wills and estates.
In 1979, Thacker was elected a member of Parliament for the Lethbridge Foothills constituency, and was reelected in 1980, 1984 and 1988. During his parliamentary career, he was appointed Chair of the Standing Committee on Justice and Solicitor General, Chair of the Special Committee on Access to Information, and Chair of the Special Committee on Canadian Security Intelligence Service. He was parliamentary secretary to the minister of consumer and corporate affairs and the minister of transport. In 1993, Thacker returned to the law profession, being appointed Queen’s Counsel, and served as an associate at his firm.
In addition to serving the Lethbridge community through his work at the U of L, Thacker was an elected member of the Lethbridge General Auxiliary Hospital and nursing home board and president of the Lethbridge Junior Bar Association.
In 2006, the University presented Thacker with an honorary Doctor of Laws.
This notice will be updated as more information on a memorial service becomes available.
Contact:
Trevor Kenney | trevor.kenney@uleth.ca | 403-329-2710