The greatest Canadian you’ve (probably) never heard of

Red Wilson would be the first guy to tell you what a lucky son-of-a-gun he was.

“As you age, you start to realize: how fortunate was I to live when I did, where I did, and with whom I did? I was very fortunate; I just followed my interests, and that’s just how things unfolded.”

While all that is surely true, Wilson’s own ambition, passion, brains, and burning desire to do well, and also to do good, certainly helped things unfold extraordinarily.

Lynton Ronald “Red” Wilson died earlier this month at age 85, after living one of the most extraordinary lives of any Canadian, ever. I was lucky enough to have met Wilson when he was a deputy minister at Queen’s Park more than 40 years ago. For the last couple of decades, we’d see each other at an annual luncheon or other events around town.

The last time I saw him was during one of his stays in hospital, where he was not a particularly happy patient. There were things to accomplish, and he couldn’t do any of them from a hospital bed.

Even though he was truly a big shot in both the public service and Canada’s corporate world, he never acted that way with me. He was curious, generous, and full of great stories and advice.

Fortunately, we know a lot more about Wilson’s life thanks to a recently published […] This is an excerpt. Read the full article at TVO.