TAYLOR, David Roy
April 12, 1937 – July 6, 2019
It is with great sadness we let you know that David Roy Taylor passed away on July 6, 2019 at North Shore Hospice in North Vancouver, in the arms of his wife, Pearline and daughter, Meg. In the last year he battled the rapid onset of dementia and pain, but throughout it all he was ever protective of his family and their welfare. We will always remember him as the quiet, honorable, intelligent man that he was. He was deceptively dignified to those who did not know him, but with friends and family he was wonderfully passionate about chemistry and being a vegan, full of puns and quick with a grin.
David adored his family and leaves behind his loving wife, Pearline Monica Taylor, his children Margaret (aka Meg) Alison Code and Valerie Ann Siggs (and Michael Siggs), his grandson, Matthew Siggs, his brothers Peter and William Taylor, nieces, nephews and family and friends. His death so soon after the sudden loss of Meg’s husband Roy William Halli Code has devastated us all.
David was born on April 12, 1937 to his parents Mabel Beryl Pearl (Holmes) and Royden Ernscliffe Taylor in St. Georges, Grenada. In 1955, he went to the University College of the West Indies (now UWI), taking chemistry, physics and math. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science 1st class in 1958, did his post-doctorate research in Jamaica, and went on to Imperial College, in London, England to defend and receive his PHD in Chemistry. In England, he studied under Professor Barton, who went on to received the Nobel Peace Prize for Chemistry in 1969. David met Pearline Chin in Jamaica at the University swimming pool, while she was doing general nursing at the University hospital. “P” also traveled to England to specialize in midwifery, and they were married in Croyden, England on November 25, 1961. They returned to Jamaica in 1963, where he did a Fellowship at the University of the West Indies and then was made a Lecturer of chemistry. Both daughters were born there, and due to the uncertain political situation, the family moved to Canada in 1974. He worked and moved over the years from Edmonton, Alberta to Elmira, Ontario, to Sherbrooke, Quebec and finally made it to the Westcoast where he eventually settled in Burnaby and taught at Kwantlan Polytechnic University as a Chemistry Professor. He enjoyed teaching, and the camaraderie of his teaching buddies. Years after retiring, he still went to weekly lunches with ‘the boys’. In September 2018, he realized his dream to move to Sechelt, BC to live beside the ocean and be near his youngest daughter, Meg and her husband Roy. It was too short a time.
Rest in peace David. We love you so much and our hearts are broken from our loss. We miss you, and the world will never be the same without you.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of David Roy Taylor April 12 1937 July 6 2019 (age 82)..
Death notice for the town of: Gibsons, Province: Colombie britanique