Weston Family - Passings of Hilary and W. Galen Weston - Billionaire Club

"Born in England in 1940, he earned a degree at the University of Western Ontario in the 1960s. After a stint in Ireland, where he met his wife and had two children, he made Canada his main base of operations in the 1970s.

In addition to his son, he also has a daughter, Alannah Weston, and he is survived by his wife of 55 years, Hilary Weston. Galen Sr. was "particularly proud" of his wife's stint as Ontario's 26th lieutenant-governor, from 1997 to 2002, the family statement says.

Although he was born into what was already a significant retail empire, Weston led it through even more expansions and acquisitions once he took control in 1974. In the process, he made the Weston family the second richest in Canada, with a net worth of more than $10 billion, according to Bloomberg.

The Weston empire was founded by his grandfather George Weston, who laid the groundwork in 1882 for a retail empire that owns or controls the grocery chain Loblaws and the food conglomerate Weston, but also the fast fashion chain Primark and the department stores Holt Renfrew in Canada, Brown Thomas in Ireland, and Selfridge's in the United Kingdom.

source: April 2021 

Retail giant W. Galen Weston has died at age 80 | CBC News

and...

source: August 2025

 Hilary Weston, former fashion business leader and Ontario lieutenant-governor, dead at 83

"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."