Anything with Cinnamon Desktop or KDE Plasma is going to be the most 'Windows-like' in how the UI works.
If they're coming from Windows, but they prefer macOS-like interfaces, GNOME or COSMIC fit that bill.
It doesn't matter what distro you select, for the most part, as Linux is Linux. The only differences are immutable or not, desktop environment, and package management type, for the most part.
That said, Mint, an Ubuntu flavor, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE......all good options.
And this is pre-LED bulb days. They didn't even have compact florescents. Imagine the power bill from incandescent bulbs running for several days.