Judith Lawrence is a Canadian puppeteer associated with the long-running CBC

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

 children's television program Mr. Dressup

Mr. Dressup

Mr. Dressup is a Canadian children's television series produced by CBC Television that ran from 1967 to 1996.The series starred Ernie Coombs as Mr. Dressup. The show aired every weekday morning, and each day Mr...

. Her best known characters were Casey and Finnegan, although she also created other occasional characters, such as Aunt Bird and Alligator Al. Judith was born in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and came to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 at age 22, earning her living as a kindergarten teacher.

After a successful audition, Lawrence started work for the CBC, where she soon created her most famous puppet characters for the Mr. Dressup

Mr. Dressup

Mr. Dressup is a Canadian children's television series produced by CBC Television that ran from 1967 to 1996.The series starred Ernie Coombs as Mr. Dressup. The show aired every weekday morning, and each day Mr...

TV series. Judith also wrote many books in The Young Canada Reading Series for Thomas Nelson

Thomas Nelson

-American public officials:*Thomas Nelson, Jr. , American Revolutionary War leader; signer of Declaration of Independence; governor of Virginia...

 publishers.
Judith co-authored a series of books for D.C. Heath on women and work.

In the 1960s she co-founded The Voice of Women. In the 1970s she was on the first NAC National Action Committee of Women. She continued her peace and feminist views through newspapers like Broadside

Broadside

A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...

. Her work brought her the Order of Canada

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

. Judith returned from Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 to Hornby Island

Hornby Island

Hornby Island of British Columbia, Canada, is a Northern Gulf Island parallel with Vancouver Island's Comox Valley.A small community of 1,074 residents is distributed across the island. The island is culturally distinctive as it was the site of a large immigration of American draft dodgers during...

, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 where she became a strong community leader for the island, a designer of the world famous recycling depot, and a farmer/environmentalist.