Doris TAYLOR

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TAYLOR: June 8, 1922 - July 27, 2016. Peacefully in her sleep, Doris Taylor passed away on Wednesday, July 27, 2016 at Hillcrest Personal Care Home in Brandon, MB. Doris was born Doris Mountford in Stoke-on -Trent, England on June 8, 1922. Stoke is in the "midlands" of England and is known for the many factories that produce lovely china dishes and figurines. Doris' mother, Hilda ("Till") painted designs on the pottery and Doris had only started to do likewise when the Second World War broke out. Doris then worked in a munitions factory operating a machine that tested the firing power of guns. During the war, Doris met her future husband, Ross Taylor, and they were married on June 9, 1945 in Stoke. Doris sailed to Canada on the ship Lusitania in May 1946 along with hundreds of other War Brides. Upon landing in Halifax she took the train to Winnipeg where Ross met her. They drove to Virden, MB where Doris was made to feel very welcome by both her husband's family and by the townsfolk. Ross's family owned and operated Taylor Lumber Company for many years. In July 1947 Doris and Ross welcomed their one and only child Penny into the world, a tiny preemy baby girl who weighed just under 3 pounds! Upon the doctor's advice, they did not have any more children and Ross used to joke that "they had tried it once and didn't like it"!! In Virden, Doris was a "stay at home" mom and their house soon became the place where all of Penny's friends and cousins came to play. Doris led the Brownie troop for many years and was fond of saying that she was a Brown Owl until she became a Grey Owl! She also enjoyed applying the makeup and doing the costumes for both the local theatre group and for the high school productions. Sewing, knitting, choir singing, oil painting and baking kept her busy as well. Her Yorkshire puddings, butter tarts and pumpkin pie were known specialities. Doris had always loved animals and enjoyed having German Shepherd Byng for over 15 years. Once she was widowed her mother Hilda Cope moved to Virden from England and Doris enjoyed having her mom close by for many years. Doris and Ross were Winter Snowbirds who enjoyed escaping from the Manitoba winters for over 30 years in Pine to Palm Park in Weslaco, Texas. In May 2007, Ross entered Rideau Park Personal Care Home in Brandon and Doris moved into Victoria Landing Retirement Residence. There she enjoyed being part of the knitting group and the choir and listening to all the musical entertainment and was happy to be able to keep her much loved cat Precious. Doris was predeceased by her husband, Ross, in November 2009 and she moved to Hillcrest Personal Care Home in January 2015. She is survived by her daughter, Penny, who is retired in Salmon Arm, BC and by two grandsons, RJ (Julia Pernal) of Calgary and Kevin in Toronto. The grandsons always called Doris "Bam" as RJ could not say Grandma when he was little and the name Bam stuck. Bam is also survived by two great granddaughters, Sophia and Grace in Calgary. Cremation has taken place and Doris's ashes have been mixed with Ross's and will be scattered at a later date. A granite bench with their names on it will be placed in the town park in Virden. If desired, donations may be made in Doris's memory to the SPCA or to any charity of your choice.

As published in Brandon Sun on Aug 06, 2016