Lilias, who was married to Vincent and Alice Massey's son, Lionel, is to date the only person to have served as the official host or hostess of Rideau Hall who was not the Governor General's spouse.
[5] She worked as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross during World War II before marrying Lionel Massey in 1946.
[2] She had previously been married to Flying Officer Douglas Byrd Van Buskirk,[6] a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot who died in combat in 1941.
[2] In 1953, she accompanied Vincent Massey as Canada's official representatives at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II,[11] and later hosted a state visit to Ottawa by Dwight Eisenhower.
[20] Other dignitaries she hosted at Rideau Hall included Jawaharlal Nehru, Queen Juliana and Haile Selassie.