One of the first women to serve in the RCMP has passed away.

Constable Cheryl Margaret LaFosse died suddenly last week. She was 76.

LaFosse made history in 1974 as the first female sworn into the RCMP, joining the first all-female troop at Depot Division in Regina. Her service took her across Nova Scotia and later back home to Newfoundland and Labrador where she worked in many places including Grand Falls, Bay d’Espoir, Davis Inlet, Twillingate, and Holyrood before retiring in 2005.

LaFosse was also a graduate of the Grace Hospital School of Nursing and had a lifelong love for fishing and the outdoors.

A service will be announced at a later date.