A veteran of the Second World War was laid to rest in the Royal Canadian Legion Veterans Cemetery Monday, Oct. 24.
Lawrence Taylor’s funeral was the first in many years in the Veterans Cemetery, and the first casket burial there in decades.
Lawrence Taylor passed away on Oct. 13, at the age of 98. Along with family members, Taylor’s service was attended by veterans and members of the Royal Canadian Legion and Cranbrook Army Cadets, who were led to the graveside by piper Alex Devitt, who like Taylor is a member of the Seaforth Highlanders Regiment. The service was officiated by Father Aaron di Dios of Christ the Servant Parish, and organized by McPherson’s Funeral Services.
The Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 24 Cranbrook, paid full tribute to Taylor. Sergeant-at-Arms Reginald Lafreniére read the Act of Remembrance. Trumpeter Rhiannon Kowalchuk played The Last Post, and Piper Devitt played The Lament. All those assembled wore poppies for the occasion.
Taylor’s casket was draped with the Royal Ensign, the Canadian flag under which Canadians fought during the War. Attendees placed their poppies on the flag at the close of the service.
Lawrence Taylor was born in Hope, B.C., in 1924, the eldest of five children. At the age of 17 he volunteered and joined the Rocky Mountain Rangers, eventually becoming a Seaforth Highlander. He served overseas and saw action in Sicily, Italy, and Holland, and, according to his family, was proud to be known as a “D-Day Dodger.”
(The term “D-Day Dodger” is a sarcastic reference by veterans of the savage Italian campaign to themselves, as the sacrifices Allied soldiers made in Italy were often overshadowed by the more highly publicized Invasion of Normandy.)
While stationed in England and on leave. Taylor met his wife, Kay.
Taylor loved sports, and was a boxer, a baseball player, and a hockey player. He curled and loved to hunt and fish. Over his lifetime he worked on ranches, the railway, logging and in underground mining as a diamond driller. He was a control tower operator at the Deas Island Tunnel, worked as a highway construction foreman in Northern B.C., where he became an explosives expert, and retired as senior road foreman for the Department of Highways in Cranbrook. He was also an accomplished artist.
Lawrence Taylor: 1924-2022 (Photo courtesy McPherson’s Funeral Services)
Piper Alex Devitt leads veterans, Legion members and Cadets into the Veterans Cemetery for Lawrence Taylor’s funeral. (Barry Coulter photo)
Rhiannon Kowalchuk plays the Last Post at Lawrence Taylor’s funeral, Monday, Oct. 24, at the Cranbrook Veterans Cemetery. (Barry Coulter photo)
Lawrence Taylor’s casket, draped with the Royal Ensign, covered with the poppies placed by funeral attendees. (Barry Coulter photo)
