Author. She was an Canadian author as well as an educator, and politician. She was best known for a series of gardening books and for serving as Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. Born Lois Elsa Verigin, she was the daughter of Michael M. Verigin and Elsa Vicktoria Norsten. Her father and mother were of Russian Doukhobor and Swedish ancestry, respectively. She moved to Edmonton, Alberta around the age of 19 and attended Strathcona High School. She received an Associate Diploma (ACTM) in Music from the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, Ontario. She married Ted Hole, and they purchased a mixed farm which they expanded into a large market-garden known as Hole's Greenhouses & Gardens Ltd. The market garden sold bedding plants in spring, and vegetables throughout the summer season. She had an extraverted and engaging personality and a knack for remembering people and quickly became endeared to her customers. The market garden operated until 2011 when the land was sold and the Enjoy Center was built a few miles to the west. She undertook prominent roles in education, beginning by being elected as school trustee to the St. Albert School District No. 6 in 1981 and serving until 1998. She served as Trustee and Chair of the Sturgeon School Division. She served 11 years on the Athabasca University Governing Council. In 1998 she was appointed as the 5th Chancellor of the University of Alberta, serving until 2000. She served as director of the Farm Credit Corporation, volunteered with the Children's Millennium Fund, served as board member for the Canadian Heritage Garden Foundation, the Child & Adolescent Services Association and the Quality of Life Commission. She was well known as a best-selling author of gardening books, a collection of life stories, "I'll Never Marry a Farmer", and articles on Doukhobor ancestry. Her gardening books had special emphasis on plants suited to the Canadian prairie climate and have over 750,000 copies in print. According to her citation by the Alberta Order of Excellence, "she was a regular contributor to the "Globe and Mail," "Edmonton Journal," and the "Edmonton Sun", and was the writer of the Canadian portion of the 1999 "Old Farmer's Almanac Gardening Companion." She appeared regularly on the "Grapevine" segment of CBC TV's Canadian Gardener. She spoke to nearly 600 gardening groups and businesses across North America, to a total audience of nearly 100,000 people". In 1999 she was appointed the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta and served from February 10, 2000, until January 20, 2005. Beyond specific reserve powers the position is largely symbolic and has no political or policy responsibility. Soon after her appointment Lois Hole proposed alterations to new health care legislation in what was seen as a well-intended overreach of the traditional role, and characteristic of her lifetime of deep civic engagement. She was called "Queen of Hugs" for her easy informality by greeting those she met, often breaking with protocol, with hugs for almost everyone she met including journalists, diplomats, and politicians. In 2004 her term in office was extended though popular sentiment for an additional year beyond the normal term so she could preside over Alberta's centenary ceremonies in 2005. She died while in office in 2005. A flower garden was created on the grounds of the Alberta Legislature and dedicated on July 4, 2006. According to the Doukhobor Gazetteer "the garden contains stone works, paths and low walls leading to a round seating area, where a bronze inscribed plaque with a raised likeness of Hole has been mounted on a boulder." She was honored for her achievements, community engagement and popular regard.