Phyllis Ross
Encyclopedia
Phyllis Gregory Ross, OC
, CBE
(1903 – April 18, 1988) was a Canadian economist, civil servant, the first woman Chancellor
of the University of British Columbia
and in the Commonwealth of Nations
, and the mother of the 17th Prime Minister of Canada
, John Turner
.
, in 1903, the 1911 census of the Dominion of Canada, shows her as Phillis [sic] Marie Gregory born in British Columbia
in June 1894 [sic] aged 6 (meaning that 1894 is probably a census-taker's error for 1904). Her parents were mining company hoist operator, James William 'Jimmy' Gregory (February 22, 1867 – August 15, 1949, Vancouver), of Stellarton, Pictou county, Nova Scotia, of Irish extraction, and his wife Mary Margaret Macdonald (December 18, 1872 – May 10, 1958, Vancouver), of Mulgrave, Guysborough county, Nova Scotia, daughter of a wealthy shipowning sea captain, of Scottish Catholic origins. They arrived in British Columbia in 1896 from their native Nova Scotia, with their elder children, Marcella and Gladys (later Mrs Michael Gillespie). Phyllis's brother, Howard James Gregory's birth is recorded at Rossland in 1898, though her own does not appear in British Columbia's on-line birth indexes for the period.
, the London School of Economics
, and the University of Marburg. She married gunsmith, Leonard Turner, in London, England. They had three children, one of whom, Michael, died in infancy. Her husband died of malaria complicated by goitre when she was 29.
Shortly after becoming a widow in Great Depression
-era London
, England in 1932, impoverished circumstances necessitated her return to Canada. She settled first with her parents in Rossland, and eventually she managed to obtain a position in Ottawa as an economist in the Public Service of Canada. Her education, gifts, and application caused her to rise to hitherto unreached heights for a woman of her generation among the overwhelmingly male mandarin establishment of Ottawa. Her rarely-encountered combination of brains and elegance turned the head of bachelor Canadian prime minister, R.B. Bennett, later to become Viscount Bennett, who courted her during her widowhood. But she stayed single.
In Ottawa, she served at the Canadian Tariff Board, the Dominion Trade and Industry Commission, and the Wartime Prices and Trade Board. At the last, while still bringing up her two surviving children, John Turner and Brenda Turner (later Mrs John Norris, of Montreal), she eventually attained the most senior position a woman could hold at the time in the Canadian civil service. Even so, because of sexism, she still only received two-thirds of the salary a man in the same post would have received.
In 1945, she finally remarried. It was to Frank Mackenzie Ross
, the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia from 1955 to 1960.
, a rare recommendation for an imperial honour during the prime ministership of William Lyon Mackenzie King
, whose Liberal ministry believed in the sparing use of British honours for Canadians in an age before Canada adopted its own separate Canadian honours system
.
Over her career, and especially when she returned to her native province, she remained involved with the University of British Columbia (UBC). She was a member of the UBC Senate from 1951 to 1954 and again from 1960 to 1966. In 1957, she was appointed to the Board of Governors. In 1961, she was honoured by her alma mater for her dual role as an accomplished Canadian economist and former provincial vicereine in being named the University's first female Chancellor.
In 1967, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
for "her contributions as a public servant". She was also a Dame of St John of Jerusalem
and, as a Roman Catholic laywoman, also a Dame of the Sovereign and Military Order of Malta.
, she died in her sleep on Saltspring Island
in 1988.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(1903 – April 18, 1988) was a Canadian economist, civil servant, the first woman Chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
of the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
and in the Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
, and the mother of the 17th Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
, John Turner
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....
.
Parentage
Though elsewhere listed as Phyllis Gregory, born in Rossland, British ColumbiaRossland, British Columbia
Rossland is a city in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia.Tucked high in the Monashee Mountains, Rossland is at an elevation of 1023 metres . Population today is approximately 3500; a number that fluctuates from season to season. The population is at its peak during the winter...
, in 1903, the 1911 census of the Dominion of Canada, shows her as Phillis [sic] Marie Gregory born in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
in June 1894 [sic] aged 6 (meaning that 1894 is probably a census-taker's error for 1904). Her parents were mining company hoist operator, James William 'Jimmy' Gregory (February 22, 1867 – August 15, 1949, Vancouver), of Stellarton, Pictou county, Nova Scotia, of Irish extraction, and his wife Mary Margaret Macdonald (December 18, 1872 – May 10, 1958, Vancouver), of Mulgrave, Guysborough county, Nova Scotia, daughter of a wealthy shipowning sea captain, of Scottish Catholic origins. They arrived in British Columbia in 1896 from their native Nova Scotia, with their elder children, Marcella and Gladys (later Mrs Michael Gillespie). Phyllis's brother, Howard James Gregory's birth is recorded at Rossland in 1898, though her own does not appear in British Columbia's on-line birth indexes for the period.
Education, family, and career
Intellectually gifted, she received a Bachelor's degree in economics and political science from the University of British Columbia. She studied at Bryn Mawr CollegeBryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
, the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, and the University of Marburg. She married gunsmith, Leonard Turner, in London, England. They had three children, one of whom, Michael, died in infancy. Her husband died of malaria complicated by goitre when she was 29.
Shortly after becoming a widow in Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
-era London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England in 1932, impoverished circumstances necessitated her return to Canada. She settled first with her parents in Rossland, and eventually she managed to obtain a position in Ottawa as an economist in the Public Service of Canada. Her education, gifts, and application caused her to rise to hitherto unreached heights for a woman of her generation among the overwhelmingly male mandarin establishment of Ottawa. Her rarely-encountered combination of brains and elegance turned the head of bachelor Canadian prime minister, R.B. Bennett, later to become Viscount Bennett, who courted her during her widowhood. But she stayed single.
In Ottawa, she served at the Canadian Tariff Board, the Dominion Trade and Industry Commission, and the Wartime Prices and Trade Board. At the last, while still bringing up her two surviving children, John Turner and Brenda Turner (later Mrs John Norris, of Montreal), she eventually attained the most senior position a woman could hold at the time in the Canadian civil service. Even so, because of sexism, she still only received two-thirds of the salary a man in the same post would have received.
In 1945, she finally remarried. It was to Frank Mackenzie Ross
Frank Mackenzie Ross
Frank Mackenzie Ross, CMG, MC was the 19th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.Ross’ first job was as a bank clerk in Montreal in 1910. He joined the Canadian Army at the outbreak of World War I, serving with the 8th Battalion...
, the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia from 1955 to 1960.
Honours
Her contribution to helping the economy of Canada during World War II was recognized by the Government of Canada when she was made a Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, a rare recommendation for an imperial honour during the prime ministership of William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
, whose Liberal ministry believed in the sparing use of British honours for Canadians in an age before Canada adopted its own separate Canadian honours system
Canadian honours system
The orders, decorations, and medals of Canada comprise a complex system by which Canadians are honoured by the country's sovereign for actions or deeds that benefit their community or the country at large...
.
Over her career, and especially when she returned to her native province, she remained involved with the University of British Columbia (UBC). She was a member of the UBC Senate from 1951 to 1954 and again from 1960 to 1966. In 1957, she was appointed to the Board of Governors. In 1961, she was honoured by her alma mater for her dual role as an accomplished Canadian economist and former provincial vicereine in being named the University's first female Chancellor.
In 1967, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
for "her contributions as a public servant". She was also a Dame of St John of Jerusalem
Venerable Order of Saint John
The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and...
and, as a Roman Catholic laywoman, also a Dame of the Sovereign and Military Order of Malta.
Death
Cruelly robbed of her faculties by Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
, she died in her sleep on Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada and Vancouver Island. It is the largest, the most populous, and the most frequently visited of the Gulf Islands...
in 1988.