A Life's Story
July 09, 2022
âA wonderful, wonderful lifeâ
From dodging bombs in WWII London to hopping into sports cars and pioneering early childhood eduction, Joyce Taylor remained âopen to anythingâ
By: Gabrielle Piché
She was barely five feet tall, at least 90 years old and hopping over the door of a sporty MG, excited for a fast drive in her son-in-laws new ride.
Joyce Taylors family was unsurprised: this was the woman who learned tennis at 80, conquered waterskiing after 40 and kept her cartwheels in good form even as her hair greyed.

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After close calls during the Blitz in London, Joyce Taylor, here with first child Janet in 1949, moved to the calm of Reading.
Some knew her as the creator of Balmoral Halls junior kindergarten program. To others, she was a friend from tap-dancing class or a treasurer on their condos board.
She remained sort of open to anything, said Jay Taylor, one of Joyces four children.
He said she spoke the Queens English. She was, after all, from London.
Taylors mother died in 1927, when Taylor then a Spooner was four years old. She was brought up by maiden aunts who would give her boiled potatoes for lunch and later, by her grandmother.
Cuter uniforms led Taylor to accept a spot at Raines Foundation School she was offered several scholarships, including one specifically for the uniforms, according to Jill Taylor-Brown, another of Taylors offspring.
We always knew she was very bright, Taylor-Brown said.
And so, Taylor learned and played in Londons East End. She moved out with a friend by 16 years old; both grew familiar with sirens and the nearby bomb shelter.

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Joyce Taylor, age five, with brother Frank in 1928, grew up in London.
When she talked about (living during the Second World War), she was nonchalant, Jay said. I guess it was just part of everybodys fabric of life.
However, one moment shook Taylor, her family said.
She and her girlfriend had hung out their undies in the window to dry, and then when the bomb went off, they evacuated, Taylor-Brown said. What they were most worried about was that people would see all their underwear in the street.
A neighbour reprimanded them for stressing about trivial things when there was a bomb shelter to get to. Taylors children dont know if anyone found the knickers.
Taylors family home was bombed and destroyed. She eventually migrated to Reading, just west of London, to continue her work as a civil servant in safer territory.

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From poetry to tai chi and travel, there was not much Joyce Taylor, seen dancing here with husband Richard in Hadashville in the 1980s, wouldn’t try.
Then, she met Richard Taylor.
The Royal Air Force pilot split his time between England his home and Canada, where he trained young men to fly planes.
The two married and had their first child, Janet. But there was a lack of jobs and housing in England, so they moved to Canada, Taylor-Brown said. Richard had an uncle overseas, and he figured he could score a job as a heating engineer.
Dame Gracie Fields sister was a passenger on their departure ship, Taylor-Brown said. So, the famous singer crooned a melody from the dock as the boat left England, she said.
Mom said everybody was crying, Taylor-Brown said.

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Joyce Taylor with four of her six great-grandchildren
Richard got a job in refrigeration, not heating and the couple settled in Riverview. Taylor stayed home and raised her children, sewing their clothes and shuttling them to various classes.
We have some nice home movies where shes looking very elegant in a dress with a big white collar and hat she wouldve made herself, parading down the sidewalk with us in our little dresses, said Jackie McGowan, Taylors third child.
Taylor volunteered at a nursery school, which led her to pursue a college education in childcare.
I think she was really fascinated by how kids learned, Taylor-Brown said. (She) really believed in play as a way of learning.
Taylor joined Balmoral Hall in 1968. She worked as a kindergarten teacher and created a program for four-year-olds, now known as the schools junior kindergarten year.

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Mother of five and school volunteer before pursuing a college education in childcare, Joyce Taylor joined Balmoral Hall in 1968.
I just remember her coming home from work, and the pots (were) going on the stove and (shed be) reading the newspaper, Taylor-Brown said, adding Taylor often read kneeling on the ground.
Over 1,000 students have passed through Balmoral Halls junior kindergarten program since its start in the late 1960s, according to Jennifer Pawluk, the girls schools communications specialist.
The curriculum involves inquiry- and play-based learning.
Taylor continued to play when she left Balmoral Hall in 1982. She and Richard moved to a farmhouse in Hadashville, where they kind of went back to the land, McGowan said.
They had a composting toilet, a wood-heating sauna, large gardens and a loom. Richard grew a beard; his wife learned to can. They cross-country skied and she substitute taught in nearby Elma.

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After 31 years in B.C., Joyce Taylor moved back to Winnipeg in 2018, two years after this photo was taken. She live to 99 and chose medically assisted death, surrounded by family, earlier this year.
She grew up in the East End of London… (a) metropolitan young woman, and now she is on the land with basically no running water, Taylor-Brown said.
The mosquitoes eventually sent them packing to British Columbia, where they lived for 31 years. Theyd travel, practise tai chi, hike.
She was always doing something, so you kind of learned through osmosis, McGowan said. I… hope that weve passed that on to our kids.
Taylor moved back to Winnipeg in 2018. She lived to 99 years old. Last summer, she was vibrantly reciting poetry shed written in a family cabin. A fall after playing ping-pong in her seniors home last September led to her gradual decline.
She would always say, I had a wonderful, wonderful life, Taylor-Brown said, noting her mother endured many struggles, including her daughter Janets death.
Taylor exemplified pushing forward, Taylor-Brown said.
You dont dwell on the negative, she said. You just keep living and carry on and look for the good things.
Taylor chose a medically assisted death, surrounded by family, on Feb. 22. She said goodbye to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren before, handing each a letter with her farewells.
gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
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