Former Edmonton MLA Janice Sarich dead at 62

Janice Sarich, a two-term Progressive Conservative MLA and Catholic school board trustee, is dead at 62.

Sarich died on Friday night, three weeks after she received a cancer diagnosis, Premier Jason Kenney said in a tweet Saturday.

Born and raised in Edmonton, Sarich was elected to the board of Edmonton Catholic Schools as a trustee in 2001. After two terms on the board, she secured the Edmonton-Decore riding for the PCs in the 2008 provincial election.

Sarich served two terms in the legislature, including a stint as the parliamentary assistant to the minister of education. She lost a re-election bid in 2015.

In his tweet Saturday, Kenney said he was "terribly saddened by the death of my good friend."

"She was a wonderful, giving and compassionate woman dedicated to her community," he wrote.

Before her time as MLA, Sarich served as an academic senate member of the Newman Theological College and as an advisory committee member to Catholic Social Services.

Sarich was appointed to the board of MacEwan University in 2019.