by Neil Bowen for the Sarnia Observer
(2003) Sarnia-Lambton’s political leaders had no doubt the late Pauline McGibbon would be the first woman to become a Lieutenant-Governor anywhere in the Commonwealth. They were right. McGibbon became the Queen’s representative in in 1974 and held the post for six years. When she died in December, 2001 at age 91, the tributes poured in.
In a remarkable personal salute, Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson issued a statement calling McGibbon one of the most vital and giving women in the nation. Clarkson’s statement read: “Once speaking publicly of her childlessness without the least embarrassment, she talked passionately of how much nurturing energy she had been able to turn to volunteer and mentoring activities because of it. She and her late husband Don (1996) were a perfect couple, full of kindness and generosity and warmth. They made wonderful conversations and brought a room alive with interest the moment they entered it. I will miss her as will everybody whose life she touched,” said Clarkson.
McGibbon and husband Don were high school sweethearts. They attended SCITS when the school was an “ultra-modern” facility in the 1920s, according to a biography co-authored by Sarnia writer Hope Morritt. The pair attended the University of Toronto where she completed a degree in history and her husband earned a degree in economics. She was later appointed chancellor of the university. He later became treasurer of Imperial Oil. The two spent most of their adult life in Toronto and McGibbon died there following a lengthy illness.
In 1974, MP Bud Cullen, Mayor Paul Blundy and MPP James Bullbrook all said, when the announcement of a woman to the position was announced, they expected it would be McGibbon. Cullen told The Observer: “I felt there was only one choice…she had contributed as much as any other person in Canada to its culture, education and, of course, the IODE.”
McGibbon was a former national president of the IODE and former president of the Dominion Drama Festival. She also served on the board of directors of IBM and IMASCO and was co-chairperson of the du Maurier Council for the Performing Arts.
She was named a Companion of the Order of Canada.