Hilary Weston at the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust for Nonfiction Gala at the Toronto TELUS Centre for Performing and Learning in November, 2012.Della Rollins/The Globe and Mail
Hilary Weston, an Irish-Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist and writer who served as lieutenant-governor of Ontario, has died.
Ms. Weston’s family confirmed her passing at the age of 83 in a Sunday statement, which did not give a cause of death.
“Our mother lived with unwavering devotion to her family and a belief in the power and importance of community and service,” said her son, Galen Weston Jr., who is the chairman and former president of Loblaw Companies Ltd.
Prior to holding public office, Ms. Weston was the deputy chair of Holt Renfrew from 1986 to 1996 and participated in the charitable activities of the W. Garfield Weston Foundation.
The Westons are one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in the country, best known for their connection to the Loblaw grocery chain.
Ms. Weston’s late husband, W. Galen Weston, known as Galen Weston Sr., died in 2021 at the age of 80. The couple was married for 55 years.
As Ontario’s lieutenant-governor from 1997 to 2002, Ms. Weston focused on issues related to youth, women and volunteerism.
In 2003, she was appointed a member of the Order of Canada, which is given to recognize outstanding achievement, dedication to community and service to the country.
Rideau Hall said at the time that Ms. Weston served with grace and distinction. It noted she was only the second woman to be appointed to the position of Ontario lieutenant-governor.
“Always seeking to improve the quality of life for her fellow citizens, she has been actively involved in numerous charities and not-for-profit organizations throughout her private and public life,” it said.
A voracious reader, Ms. Weston had since 2011 sponsored the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, which is awarded annually in recognition of excellence in Canadian nonfiction.
Ms. Weston reads the speech from the throne at Queen's Park in April, 1999.Kevin Frayer/The Canadian Press
Ms. Weston’s passion for the arts, education, health research and volunteerism culminated in recent years in the creation of the Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation.
Since 2021, the foundation has committed close to $150-million to charities related to health care, education, women, refugees and the environment in Canada, Ireland and Britain, her family said.
Ms. Weston’s daughter, Alannah Weston Cochrane, said her mother loved a challenge, and brought an innate creativity and style to everything she did.
“But it was her vision, coupled with her enormous capacity for hard work, that made her a great female leader,” she said in Sunday’s statement.
Nancy Lockhart, a director of George Weston Ltd., which controls Loblaw, described her friend of more than 30 years as a person who came from humble beginnings yet rose to the pinnacles of business and society in several countries.
“The people who worked with and for her adored her and stayed with her for decades,” Ms. Lockhart said in an interview on Sunday.
“I think that that is the true measure of a really great person, the kind of love and loyalty she engendered in people.”
Ms. Lockhart recalled that, when Ms. Weston knew she was ill, a friend expressed that it wasn’t fair.
“Hilary thought for a minute and then said, ‘No, I don’t feel that way. I’ve had a wonderful life,’” Ms. Lockhart said. “She never complained or expressed pity for herself. Not once.”
Rob Prichard, a longtime director at George Weston Ltd., former president at the University of Toronto and a friend of Ms. Weston’s for 35 years, said she lived a consequential life.
“She built multiple great businesses; was an enormously admired and successful lieutenant governor; a philanthropist of the first rank; a global figure in the arts, fashion and literature; and was a much admired leader, remarkably, not just in Canada, but in the U.K., Ireland and the U.S.,” Mr. Prichard said in an interview Sunday.
He described Ms. Weston and her husband as an unbeatable couple, and said he often toasted the two on their most remarkable accomplishment together: their children.
“They were an equal partnership in everything they did, in business, philanthropy, and their social and family lives. It was the two of them, as equal partners, which is why I admired her so darn much.”
Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris said in a statement that he was saddened to learn of Ms. Weston’s death and offered his condolences to her children and family.
“Hilary was a very proud Irish Canadian who served both Ireland and Canada with distinction and generosity,” Mr. Harris said.