Longtime St. John's city councillor, realtor Debbie Hanlon dies after battle with cancer

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The well-known St. John's realtor and municipal person Debbie Hanlon has died, metropolis councillors said successful a radical connection Wednesday.

City assembly announces passing Wednesday morning, nodding to Hanlon's 'larger-than-life spirit'

Woman with reddish hairsbreadth wearing a yellowish coat.

Longtime St. John's metropolis councillor and existent property cause Debbie Hanlon has died.

"Debbie was a unit of quality — her energy, passion, and larger-than-life tone near a lasting content connected everyone who had the privilege of knowing her," said the metropolis assembly successful a connection connected Wednesday morning.

Hanlon's household said successful a connection posted to Facebook that Hanlon died Tuesday astatine the Health Sciences Centre, surrounded by loved ones, aft a agelong conflict with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

"She loved her metropolis and being your metropolis counsellor. She loved being your realtor. She loved her community. She loved her friends and family. She loved children and particularly loved being a grandma. Debbie genuinely loved her life," said the post.

Hanlon announced her crab diagnosis successful February of 2024.

Mayor Danny Breen spoke with reporters Wednesday morning. He said city unit and assembly are devastated, that Hanlon was a person to everyone and that she lit up each country she walked successful to.

"She was fierce, she was a fighter. And we saw her successful this combat and it was genuinely amazing," said Breen. "She's a fantastic idiosyncratic and we're going to miss her a lot."

Breen said Hanlon was a champion for the city, promoting it arsenic a tourism destination and a large protagonist of section businesses. He besides spoke astir her enactment and heavy transportation with seniors successful the community.

"Every clip Debbie was around it was a brighter place," said Breen.

Breen besides spoke to Hanlon's entrepreneurship and hard enactment she enactment into her existent property career.

"She had the highs and the lows of concern and she experienced them all. But she was ne'er acrophobic of the situation and she took those challenges connected caput on," helium said.

In a Facebook post, Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O'Leary said she's heartbroken implicit Hanlon's death.

"Debbie was colourful, fun-loving and lit up each country she entered. Seniors loved her and she knew however to instrumentality the sting retired of the pugnacious worldly successful a governmental satellite by spreading optimism and joy," wrote O'Leary.

O'Leary aboriginal told CBC News astir Hanlon's advocacy for women successful municipal politics, noting that she was an aboriginal subordinate of Equal Voice, an enactment that encourages women to enactment successful politics.

"She besides had the knack of not letting the antagonistic worldly instrumentality to her," said O'Leary. "I deliberation she was an unthinkable illustration of tenacity for galore radical successful community."

Inspiration

Hanlon was archetypal elected to the metropolis assembly successful 2008, representing Ward 4. After a hiatus from municipal politics, she was besides re-elected successful 2017 arsenic a councillor-at-large, and again successful 2021.

"Throughout her decade-long service, she was a tireless advocator for her constituents, championing section issues with determination and heart. Additionally, unit were precise fond of Debbie and admired her dedication to the community," said the council's statement.

To people her death, flags successful beforehand of metropolis hallway volition beryllium flown astatine half-mast and different metropolis buildings until sunset of the time of the ceremonial service.

Fellow councillor Maggie Burton described Hanlon as a loving mother, person and colleague.

"She held the radical she loved precise adjacent to her, and she would bash thing for them. She would agelong the boundaries of what was imaginable successful bid to marque the radical she loved happy," Burton wrote connected societal media.

"In different words, she would spell to the extremity of the world for you if she loved you. And not lone that, she was precise generous with her love; it was abundant. That is the archetypal crushed I loved her."

WATCH | Debbie Hanlon became a existent property occurrence aft losing it all:

From a failed concern to existent property reinvention: How Debbie Hanlon turned it astir successful the 90s

Twenty-nine years ago, Debbie Hanlon was connected a comeback. The azygous parent had mislaid her house, her car and her St. John’s concern 3 years prior. But arsenic she told newsman David Zelcer, a task into the risky existent property marketplace had yet paid off.

Burton aboriginal told reporters about Hanlon's authenticity, calling her a fable and inspiring.

"The pistillate was pugnacious arsenic nails. There was nothing that Debbie couldn't handle," said Burton.

More than a twelvemonth ago, Hanlon told CBC News she was committed to warring the disease.

"I americium beating this cancer. Debbie Hanlon's beingness is not going to extremity successful this infirmary with this cancer. Not happening. I'm not letting it happen, I tin warrant you that. I americium warring this each measurement of the way."

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