The
Weston previously held executive and senior roles at food, retail and real estate giants his family founded or led including
He retired as chairman of
"As he pushed me and my sister up and down store aisles in a shopping cart, our Saturdays became lessons in retail, bakery, and real estate, where I also saw firsthand the fundamental values that lead to success,"
"He was always curious and interested in what everyone had to say, whether it was a backroom receiver, a colleague on a packaging line, or a division president. He always knew there was something to learn from them."
While Weston was proud of his several businesses, many described him as putting family first.
He was married to Hilary, a former
The family's roots in business began with
He was a
With wife Reta,
The couple returned to
"They were I think third or fourth in the industry and they had far too much debt, and they were in serious trouble," recalled
"(Weston) sold off assets and put together a new management team and he built the company and grocery stores up to where it is today, by far the largest, most powerful grocer in the country."
He focused largely on marketing and product development, hiring
In 2003 Weston bought the
"The luxury retail industry has lost a great visionary," said daughter
"His energy electrified those of us who were lucky enough to work alongside him to reimagine what customer experience could be."
Selfridges wasn't in great shape when Weston took over, but he turned it around with his business acumen, Fell said.
He called Weston "incredibly competitive" and remembered him always having an eye on his rivals.
"He watched the numbers, he watched the market share and their various businesses, and nothing was ever good enough," said Fell. "Even though the company was doing well, it wasn't good enough."
"He taught me that making a decision is more important than making the perfect decision and that you need to do what you love to have an interesting life."
Weston, Prichard said, spent many Saturdays visiting stores just to talk to workers and shoppers on the floor and he treated them, the staff in his factories and even the British royalty he knew with the same respect and dignity.
While most people saw his business side, Prichard said Weston was always up for fun and would try to make a sports match, a party or even a swim in
"You name the sport and he'd beat me at every one of them," said Prichard.
"He was a very good tennis player, he took up golf later in life when he gave up polo ... and he was a gifted and graceful athlete. It didn't matter what sport it was."
Weston and his family, whose wealth Forbes valued at
In 2014, the family donated
In
The family has also taken a special interest in the arts, making donations to the
(Weston) was modest and unassuming, but he did a lot for the community and a lot of it behind or under the radar screen," said Fell.
"He packed a lot into one lifetime ... and we lost a great Canadian and a hugely successful role model, so it's a sad day."
This report by
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