Geills Turner
Geills Turner | |
|---|---|
| Born | Geills Kilgour December 23, 1937 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Spouse of John Turner, 17th Prime Minister of Canada |
Geills "Jill" McCrae Turner (née Kilgour; born December 23, 1937) is a Canadian entrepreneur and the widow of John Turner, who was the 17th Prime Minister of Canada.
Early life and career
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Turner is the oldest among three siblings. She is related as the grand-niece to John McCrae, the poet behind In Flanders Fields, and is the sister of longtime Alberta parliamentarian David Kilgour. Her father, David Kilgour, Sr., held the position of CEO at Great West Life Assurance Company. Coming from an affluent background, she demonstrated strong aptitude in science and mathematics, completing her undergraduate studies in math and physics at McGill University. She pursued further education in business at Harvard Business School but left the United States due to limited career prospects for women within New York investment firms. Subsequently, she joined IBM's Montreal office. Historian Gordon Donaldson characterized her as an "upper-crust pretty [girl]."
Turner met John Turner during his initial campaign for the 1962 Canadian federal election, where she played a role in integrating computer technology into the campaign operations. They wed in 1963 and had four children: Elizabeth (born 1964), Michael (born 1965), David (1968–2021), and James Andrew (born 1972).
Role as prime minister’s spouse
John Turner held office as Canada's prime minister from June 30 to September 17, 1984.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports that she chose to preserve her individual identity rather than directly engage with her husband's political initiatives, generally steering clear of public attention. Unhappy with how the media portrayed her, she kept a distance from journalists. As detailed in Allan Fotheringham's Birds of a Feather: The Press and the Politicians, during the 1988 election campaign she attempted to retaliate against reporters by covertly photographing them aboard a campaign bus with plans to publish those images in a magazine. Nevertheless, these photographs were never made public, likely due to intervention by John Turner.
Subsequent years
After relocating back to Toronto, Turner enrolled in a four-year photography program at Ryerson University.
In 2001, she attracted media attention following an incident where she crashed her minivan and was charged with careless driving; she explained that her momentary lapse was intended to shield her dog.
In 2008, Turner initiated legal action against the City of Guelph over possession rights to several wartime medals that had belonged to John McCrae and were donated to the McCrae House museum. The disagreement was resolved in 2012 with the medals remaining on display at the museum.