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Hilary Weston, an Irish Canadian former fashion model, 26th lieutenant-governor of Ontario and businesswoman, has died, her family said in a statement on Sunday. She was 83.
Weston served as Ontario’s lieutenant-governor from 1997 to 2002, after being appointed by then- Progressive Conservative premier Mike Harris, and held various executive roles in the fashion industry on both sides of the Atlantic, including at Holt Renfrew in Canada and Brown Thomas & Co. in Ireland.
The Irish-born Weston was invested into the Order of Canada in 2005 for her public service and philanthropic work.
She was married to the late Canadian billionaire Galen Weston, and the couple had two children.
“Our mother lived with unwavering devotion to her family and a belief in the power and importance of community and service,” her son Galen Jr. said in the statement.
Simon Harris, a minister in the Irish government, said in a statement that Weston “served both Ireland and Canada with distinction and generosity,” citing her leadership of the Canadian chapter of Ireland Funds.
