Lilias Massey

The daughter of businessman and politician T. Franklin Ahearn,[2] she was raised in Ottawa just a few blocks from Rideau Hall at 7 Rideau Gate.[5] She worked as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross during World War II before marrying Lionel Massey in 1946.[2] She had previously been married to Flying Officer Douglas Byrd Van Buskirk,[6] a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot who died in combat in 1941.[7]

The Masseys resided in Saskatoon, Toronto and Canton, and briefly in London, England, until Vincent Massey was appointed as Governor General in 1952.[2] Being the spouse of a Governor General is an important public role in its own right, thus Vincent Massey's status as a widower necessitated the appointment of an acting châtelaine, and Lilias Massey was selected for the role.[8] Lionel Massey simultaneously served as Secretary to the Governor General of Canada.[9]

As châtelaine, Massey's duties included hosting visiting dignitaries at Rideau Hall,[5] and accompanying the Governor General on his official state visits and public appearances.[10] During her term as châtelaine, Lionel and Lilias Massey maintained their primary residence at Rideau Cottage on the grounds of Rideau Hall,[2] while also sometimes returning to Batterwood House, the Masseys' private family home in Canton, for weekends and vacations.[2]

In 1953, she accompanied Vincent Massey as Canada's official representatives at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II,[11] and later hosted a state visit to Ottawa by Dwight Eisenhower.[12] In 1954, the Masseys in turn undertook a state visit to Washington, D.C.,[9][13] and later hosted Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother at Rideau Hall.[14] In 1955, they hosted Princess Mary, Princess Royal at Rideau Hall.[15]

In 1956, she accompanied Vincent Massey on a tour of the Canadian Arctic,[16] during which she became the first woman ever to fly over the North Pole.[17] Upon the end of the tour, she briefly fell ill and was taken to hospital in The Pas, Manitoba.[18] As of that trip, she had accompanied Vincent Massey on all but two of his 86 official trips across Canada.[19]

In 1957, she was the official presenter of the Lady Tweedsmuir Cup, a women's curling championship trophy named for Susan Buchan, Baroness Tweedsmuir, to the winning Royal Montreal Curling Club.[20]

Other dignitaries she hosted at Rideau Hall included Jawaharlal Nehru, Queen Juliana and Haile Selassie.[1]

After Vincent Massey stepped down as Governor General, Lionel and Lilias returned to Batterwood House.[1] Following Lionel's death in 1965, Lilias returned to Ottawa, where she lived until her death in 1997.[1]