The City of Cote Saint-Luc announced Tuesday night that long-time City Councillor Ruth Kovac passed away Oct. 1.

“We are heartbroken by the loss of someone who gave so much of her life to public service, ” said Mayor Mitchell Brownstein in a statement. “She fought with fierce determination for the causes she believed in. She was one of a kind. On behalf of my Cote Saint-Luc family, and my own family, I extend my heartfelt condolences to Ruth’s husband Peter and their children and grandchildren.”

Ruth Kovac was 69.

Cote Saint-Luc City Councillor Mike Cohen wrote on his website that Kovac had been battling cancer for several years and was admitted to paliative care on Monday.

"She was working right to the last minute," said Brownstein, who met with Kovac Thursday at her home to discuss the future of the city.

She was first elected to the city council in 1990 and volunteered at the city's Emergency Medical Organization, the Mt. Sinai Auxiliary and was co-chair of the Cote Saint-Luc demerger committee.

"She was one of the main reasons we got our city back," said Brownstein who was elected the same year as Kovac.

In 2017, Kovac along with lawyer Harold Staviss spearheaded a petition signed by close to 7,000 people to make public road signs dealing with public safety and health bilingual when no pictogram exists.

A book of condolence will be placed in the public library this week, and city flags will be lowered to half-mast.

Kovac's funeral will be Thursday, Oct. 3 at Paperman & Sons funeral parlour and donations in her name can be made to the Mount Sinai Hospital or the Segal Cancer Centre at the Jewish General Hospital.