[1] In 1998 the Canadian Botanical Society awarded her the George Lawson Medal for lifetime achievement.
[2] After her early childhood years in Wells, British Columbia, Kathleen Margaret Cole moved with her family to West Vancouver.
She joined the department of biology and botany in 1952 as a lecturer and was eventually promoted to full professor.
This research established the focus of the remainder of her career and her work with her graduate students and other collaborators.
During her years as a UBC student, she performed in many concerts and in Vancouver on radio broadcasts.