Norah Michener

Norah Willis Michener (1902 – 12 January 1987) was the Canadian wife of Roland Michener, the 20th Governor General of Canada. As the spouse of a Governor General, she held the title of Chatelaine of Rideau Hall. She had a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Toronto.

Life and career She was born in Boissevain, Manitoba, She attended the University of British Columbia, from which she received her B.A. in philosophy in 1922. On February 26, 1927, they were married. The couple had three daughters, one of whom was Dr. Diana Schatz, founder of The Michener Institute of Education at UHN.

After her marriage, she continued her studies in philosophy at the University of Toronto under George S. Brett and Fulton Anderson and at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies under Jacques Maritain, Étienne Gilson and Anton C. Pegis. In 2003, Armour wrote, "In her perceptive study, Norah Michener argues that the theory of the intellect is the key to Maritain's philosophical anthropology. 'Man can through his intellect know—and hence intentionally become—all things.'"

From 1933 onwards, Maritain gave lectures from time to time at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. Norah Michener attended many of Maritain's lectures, and they also met socially or in relation to her thesis. She was philosophically astute and held in esteem by both Maritain and Gilson. On the rare occasions when both men were at the University of Toronto at the same time, she made it a point to invite them to her home.

Norah Michener's dinners were memorable for the conversation as well as the food. It was her habit to propose a topic for discussion at table. In autumn 1952, the topic was Jean-Paul Sartre, who had recently given a lecture in Toronto. She invariably placed Gilson on her left and Maritain—the subject of her thesis—on her right. When, in 1956, she pseudonymously published Janet Peters' Personal Cookbook, the recipes for dessert included a gateau maritain and a gateau gilson. Nevertheless, during Roland and Norah Michener's term at Rideau Hall, protocol was relaxed in a number of ways. The most notable example was the dropping of the curtsey to the Governor General and his wife, These included the Michener Award for public service journalism, a Wendy Michener Award presented by the Canadian Film Awards to honour outstanding artistic achievement, and an annual Wendy Michener Fund to support research in arts and humanities at York University.