Pessoa

Wilson, Garrett, 1932-

Niall Garrett Ardri Wilson was born on May 19, 1932 in Limerick, Saskatchewan to Charles and Florence (Sproule) Wilson. He attended Luther College in Regina, and earned Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of Saskatchewan in 1954. While attending university, Wilson wrote for its newspaper, The Sheaf, and in the 1953-54 school year was the newspaper's editor.

After graduation, Wilson articled under F.B. Bagshaw. In 1955, he was called to the bar, admitted to the Law Society of Saskatchewan, and became a partner in Bagshaw, Neville & Wilson, a private law firm in Regina. Along with his private practice, Wilson was a Regina City Prosecutor in 1958. During his career, Wilson was a partner in the following law firms: Neville & Wilson; Wilson & Rendek; Wilson, Drummond & Whitmore; Wilson & Drummond; Wilson, Drummond, Findlay & Neufeld; Wilson, Harmel, Drummond; Wilson & Company; and Wilson Rasmussen. In addition, Wilson served as counsel to the Regina Police Service and the Association of Professional Engineers of Saskatchewan for several years. Wilson was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1968. He was Chair of the Saskatchewan Public Service Commission (1964-1965) and of the Regina Rail Relocation Committee (1973-1982). In 2005, he was awarded an honourary life membership to the Law Society of Saskatchewan.

Wilson was active with the provincial and federal Liberal parties in the 1960s and 1970s. He was involved in the campaign of provincial Liberal leader Ross Thatcher in 1964, and served as the Liberal Party's campaign manager for the 1967 election. He served as president of the Saskatchewan Liberal Association (1971-1975) and as vice-president of the Liberal Party of Canada (1978-1980).

With his daughter Lesley, Wilson co-authored Deny, Deny, Deny: The Rise and Fall of Colin Thatcher, which detailed the murder of JoAnn Wilson and the resulting trial of her ex-husband, Colin Thatcher. This book was published in 1985, with a second edition published in 2000. The 2000 edition of the book was short-listed for a Saskatchewan Book Award in the Regina Book Award category. In 1988, Wilson co-authored Diefenbaker for the Defence with his son Kevin. This work examined the legal career of John G. Diefenbaker prior to his entry into politics. Other works authored by Wilson include the crime mystery Guilty Addictions (1999) which was short-listed for a Saskatchewan Book Award and the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award, and Frontier Farewell (2007) which won Wilson a Saskatchewan Book Award in the Scholarly Writing category. Wilson is a former director and president of the Saskatchewan Book Awards, a former director and current member of the advisory council of The Writers' Trust of Canada, and holds membership with The Writers' Union of Canada, the Saskatchewan Writers Guild and the Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society.

Garrett Wilson has three children from his marriage to Lois Merle Neville: Lesley, Taralyne, and Kevin. Wilson currently (2010) resides in Regina.