Frank Ray Lawson, OBE

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...

 (August 30, 1886-1980), was the 17th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada and resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the United...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, from 1946 to 1952.

Born in London

London, Ontario

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...

, Ontario, he was the son of Francis Edgar ("Frank") Lawson, a former newspaper reporter, and Lorena Hodgins, a former teacher. He studied at London Collegiate and attended Woodstock College in 1902, but left after less than a year, eager to begin a business career. At age 17, he began working as a clerk in a London dry goods

Dry goods

Dry goods are products such as textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and sundries. In U.S. retailing, a dry goods store carries consumer goods that are distinct from those carried by hardware stores and grocery stores, though "dry goods" as a term for textiles has been dated back to 1742 in England or...

 business, and later worked as a traveling salesman for a wholesale jeweler, before becoming a traveling salesman for Lawson & Jones Limited, the printing firm co-founded by his father. In 1909 he married Helen Newton and they later had five children.

In 1911, following the sudden death of his father, Lawson returned to London and assumed his father's position with Lawson & Jones. In 1913, he borrowed heavily to purchase the shares held by the Jones family and, at the age of 26, became the company's president, director and major shareholder. In addition to printing druggists' labels and calendars, in 1916 Lawson & Jones entered into a profitable arrangement to manufacture cigarette packaging for Imperial Tobacco. By 1920, Lawson had retired the debt he incurred and throughout the depression the company grew by acquiring and consolidating other printing concerns.

When war broke out in 1939, Lawson went to work for C.D. Howe, Canadian Federal Minister of Munitions and Supply, as a "dollar-a-year-man", and was appointed president of Federal Aircraft Limited, a crown corporation established in Montreal to manufacture the Avro Anson

Avro Anson

The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...

 trainer for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan

The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , known in some countries as the Empire Air Training Scheme , was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, during the Second World War...

. He was named an Officer of the Order of the British empire in 1942.

During his career, Lawson was a senior executive or director of 20 Canadian companies, including: president, Lawson & Jones Ltd., president, Canadian Containers; president, Midland Securities, Ltd.; director, The Royal Bank of Canada; director, Traders Finance Corporation Limited; director, London & Western Trust Co. Ltd.; director, Northern Life Assurance Co. of Canada; director, Toronto General Insurance; director, Great Lakes Paper. Eight universities conferred honorary degrees on him.

Ray Lawson was Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1946 to 1952. He was later Canadian Consul-General in New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 from 1953 to 1955. From 1948 to 1956, he was the Chancellor of University of King's College

University of King's College

The University of King's College is a post-secondary institution in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. King's is a small liberal arts university offering mainly undergraduate programs....

, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

In 1947, Lawson purchased the Oakville lakeshore estate, “Ballymena” that was previously owned by William Fletcher Eaton, to have a suitable residence close to Toronto and for use in his capacity as Lieutenant Governor. It became his permanent home.

Lawson was an active philanthropist most of his life, having sponsored the building of a library at the University of Western Ontario as early as 1933, and over the years creating various scholarships, trusts and contributing to charitable societies. In 1956, he established the Lawson Foundation, with assets of $2,000,000. The Foundation has since donated over $50 million to charities across Canada and in 2005 had an endowment of over $90 million.

Ray Lawson died in 1980 and was buried at Woodland Cemetery, London, Ontario.

His descendants currently reside all over the world, including Australia, Japan and South Africa. They continue to participate in and volunteer with the Lawson Foundation.

Has a street named after him in Brampton, ON and in Montreal, QC (Anjou borough).