Fashion icon. Born Jan. 7, 1940, in Sudbury, Ont.; died Dec. 24, 2023, in Toronto, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease; aged 83.For 30 years, on alternate Saturday nights , premiere Toronto jazz artists played post-gig gigs that were not advertised except by word-of-mouth and private e-mail. The parties were the best worst-kept secret of Toronto’s Queen Street culture – and it was all thanks to Lorraine Wright.
Born in Sudbury as Lorraine Alice Slotek, and raised in the Winnipeg suburb of Transcona, the eldest of three siblings , Lorraine achieved a fine arts degree from the University of Manitoba. She went on to teach at various schools in Winnipeg, from elementary to high school. “I will always cherish the memories of her playing her guitar and singing folk songs,” her son David Wright recalls. “She was a great cook and taught us to take of ourselves. …