A Cape Breton social activist who was the first Roman Catholic nun to be appointed to the Senate has died.
Sister Peggy Butts died Saturday in Sydney at the age of 79.
The native of Bridgeport, N.S., was remembered by friends this weekend as a brilliant educator who was dedicated to social justice issues.
"We know she had a wonderful life," said Sister Agnes Cordeau, who served alongside Sister Butts for more than 25 years.
"She was blessed with a brilliant mind and she used every bit of it for the good of others."
Sister Butts earned her PhD in political philosophy from the University of Toronto. As an educator, she was a high-school principal in Cape Breton and later taught at St. Francis Xavier University and at the University College of Cape Breton.
She worked on a variety of health-care and social projects and assisted many social groups across the province. She also served as director of the social justice office for the Diocese of Antigonish, N.S.
She was appointed to the Senate in 1997 by former prime minister Jean Chrétien. She worked there for two years, donating her salary to charity. She left in 1999 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.
While in the Senate, one of Sister Butts's projects was obtaining federal funds for a breakfast program at schools in Cape Breton.
A funeral mass will be held tomorrow in Sydney.