W. Garfield Weston

Willard Garfield Weston (January 26, 1898 - October 22, 1978), was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist who also served as a Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Born in Toronto, Garfield Weston served with the Canadian Army during World War I and was part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force sent to the battlefields of France.

His father, George Weston (1864-1924), owned a small chain of Ontario-based bakeries that at age twenty-six Garfield Weston took over on his father's death. As president and general manager, he transformed George Weston Limited into an international food conglomerate. In 1935, he expanded operations into Great Britain with the founding of Associated British Foods and set up operations in South Africa, Australia, and Europe. In 1943, Weston diversified into pulp and paper with the acquisition of a controlling interest in the E.B. Eddy Company. In 1947, Weston acquired Loblaw Companies and built it into the largest chain of supermarkets in Canada.

Weston was elected as a Conservative MP for Macclesfield in November 1939, but retired at the end of the Parliament in 1945.

During his lifetime, Garfield Weston contributed to numerous humanitarian causes both personally and through his companies. His philanthropic works continue through the W. Garfield Weston Foundation in Toronto and the Garfield Weston Foundation in London. On January 11, 1978 W. Garfield Weston was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and in recognition of his significant contribution to Canada's economic prosperity, he was inducted posthumously into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame following its creation in 1979.

Of Irish ancestry, Weston purchased Barretstown Castle at Ballymore Eustace, County Kildare that he bequeathed to the State. He also acquired Camp Madawaska, which he bequeathed to the Salvation Army.

Garfield Weston died in Toronto in 1978 and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto. The father of three sons and six daughters, son Galen Weston succeeded him at the helm of businesses in North America, Loblaw's Grocery Stores (L.TO) and George Weston Limited (WN.TO), son Garry Weston took over Associated British Foods (ABF.L) based in London, and Grainger Weston left the family business and moved to Texas to buy a biscuit business named Grandma's Cookies, which was sold to Frito Lay in 1977.

External links

* [http://www.westonfoundation.org/ W. Garfield Weston Foundation website]
* [http://www.garfieldweston.org/ Garfield Weston Foundation website]