Gryphon Gallery: Judy Creighton (Nicholson)

June 3, 2022

Alumni

Stuart Brambley, Archivist Stuart Brambley, Archivist photo

Judy attended Glenlyon Norfolk School (Norfolk House) from 1954 to 1957 and served as Secretary, then President of the Old Girl’s Association from 1962 to 1964. After her graduation, Judy joined the Victoria Daily Times as a reporter, which was the beginning of a long and illustrious career in journalism. She worked for the London Free Press and Toronto Star before joining the Canadian Press in 1975 in the editor’s chair of the Lifestyle Section.

She covered the concerns that hit closest to home, tracking cultural trends and whetting Canadians’ appetites for homegrown cuisine. In a male-dominated industry that often dismissed lifestyle sections as “fluff,” Creighton brought a journalist’s eye to matters relating to the everyday lives of her readers. Her impact was such that she became the first woman elected to the board of the Toronto Men’s Press Club.

Even though she tackled issues of social consequence like the rising tide of feminism, she was first and foremost a ‘foodie’—from making the most of Thanksgiving leftovers, picking up on emerging culinary trends, or advocating for cooks to use homegrown ingredients years before buying local became a movement.

In 2009, Judy Creighton won the Founder’s Award from Cuisine Canada that recognized her contribution to the coverage of Canadian cooking and food journalism. Her “Food File” was regularly delivered to over 100 newspaper outlets across the country.

A ‘beacon’ who burst the confines of the women’s section to bring meat-and-potatoes issues to the front pages of Canada’s newspapers passed away in May 2020.