Lilias Massey
| Lilias Massey | |
|---|---|
| Acting Viceregal consort of Canada | |
|
In office February 28, 1952 – September 15, 1959 |
|
| Governor-General | Vincent Massey |
| Preceded by | Countess Alexander of Tunis |
| Succeeded by | Pauline Vanier |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Lilias Evva Ahearn 1918 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | January 19, 1997 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Spouse(s) | Lionel Massey (m. 1946; d. 1965) |
| Children | Jane Massey |
| Parents | T. Franklin Ahearn, father |
Lilias Evva Massey (1918 – January 19, 1997), née Ahearn, was a Canadian dignitary, who served as Châtelaine of Rideau Hall during her father-in-law Vincent Massey's term as Governor General of Canada. Vincent Massey was a widower whose wife Alice died 18 months before his appointment as Governor General; Lilias, who was married to Vincent and Alice Massey's son Lionel, is to date the only person to have served as the official host or hostess of Rideau Hall who was not the Governor General's spouse.
Due to the conventions of formal address that were used in the 1950s, she may also be referred to in some references as Mrs. Lionel Massey rather than by her own given name. However, she was not given the honorary style of Her Excellency, which is given to the Governor General and a viceregal consort who is his or her spouse, nor was she inducted into the Order of Canada as a viceregal consort normally is.
The daughter of businessman and politician T. Franklin Ahearn, she was raised in Ottawa just a few blocks from Rideau Hall at 7 Rideau Gate. She worked as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross during World War II before marrying Lionel Massey in 1946. She had previously been married to Douglas Van Buskirk, a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot who died in combat in 1941.
The Masseys resided in Saskatoon, Toronto and Canton, and briefly in London, England, until Vincent Massey was appointed as Governor General in 1952. As the spouse of the Governor General is an important public role in its own right, Vincent Massey's status as a widower necessitated the appointment of an acting châtelaine, and Lilias Massey was selected for the role; Lionel Massey simultaneously served as Secretary to the Governor General of Canada.
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