Bertha Wilson

WILSON, The Honourable Bertha In Ottawa at Rideau Place on-the-River on Saturday, April 28, 2007. She is survived by her husband the Rev. John Wilson to whom she has been married for sixty-one years; by her brother James C.S. Wernham (Rosemary), her nephews Christopher (Monique) and Richard (Julia West) all of Toronto. Bertha Wilson was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland in 1923, obtained her M.A. Degree at the University of Aberdeen and emigrated to Canada in 1949. While her husband was stationed in Halifax as a Chaplain in the R.C.N., she took her law degree at Dalhousie University, graduating in 1957, and in the years immediately following was called to the Bars of Nova Scotia and Ontario. She practiced law in Toronto for seventeen years with the firm of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, and was a member of the Ontario and National Councils of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA). She served on the Boards of the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, the Toronto School of Theology, the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, the Westminster Institute for Ethics and Human Values, and was a Member of the Judicial Committee of the United Church of Canada. She chaired the CBA's Task Force on Women in the Legal Profession and was a member of the federal government's Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. She was made a Judge of the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1975, and of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1982. She retired from the Court on January 4, 1991. She has, over the years, been the recipient of Honorary Degrees from Canadian Universities, from the Law Society of Upper Canada and from her alma mater the University of Aberdeen. She was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1991 and appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1992. On Bertha's behalf, deep gratitude is expressed to Dr. Seely and the staff of the Ottawa General Hospital fifth floor west; and Dr. Matuk and the nurses of Rideau Place on-the-River for their outstanding professional and compassionate care. And to her personal care givers for their loving attendance and unstinting devotion during the last ten months, while she coped with the increasing shadow of Alzheimer's disease. Private funeral arrangements by Hulse, Playfair and McGarry. To celebrate her life and work a memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Wellington and Kent Streets, Ottawa. Handicapped access on 84 Kent Street. Reception to follow in the Church Hall. In lieu of flowers, donations if so desired may be made to the Alzheimer's Society in Ottawa.