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compiled by Pamela Bruce & lynda Torrance photos courtesy of Andrew Brace, Dog World Magazine Remembering MR. R. WILLIAM “BILL” TAYLOR
Bill judging the Toy Group at Westminster 2007. (Photo by ashbey, Fritz)
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I have been given the honour to speak to R.W. Taylor’s life as a member of our dog com- munity, and on behalf of Ed Gravely. Mr. Gravely gave the eulo- gy for Mr. Taylor’s partner Nigel Aubrey Jones. It is an honour to speak on his behalf and to speak in regards to our lifelong friend and mentor. I must admit as I started to write this, I could only hear the words of Car- ol Hollands ringing through my head encouraging me not to botch this up as they will all be ringside in heaven with a front row seat! Bill’s passing is such a great loss; not only to the dog community, but the fact that I have lost one of my best drink- ing buddies. He has been my mentor from day one—how do you even begin to thank someone for that? There was many a time that I stayed at Mr. Taylor’s, not wanting to end our conversation, nor waste a great libation we had discovered. Lise was always good with that. I worked with Bill to acquire his perspective on dog shows in Quebec. Bill always wanted to know what was going on with the shows even after he retired. When Bill realized the change in the size of United KC he always rein- forced to me the idea that quality was far more important than quantity. He applied that to everything in his life. When I was deciding about a new dog, I of course asked Bill about getting the Queen’s dog—a Corgi. He reminded me to only get the best of the best, whether it was a show dog or a companion dog. Bill was tickled pink when I asked his permission to call the dog “Nigel”. We truly loved them both! From Ed & LisE GravELy Two of my most favourite memories of Bill are his great affection for music.
years, for the last time as he moved into a palliative care home, knowing full well he would never return. Bill’s life in the dog world and his achievements were many. As a young man he had become enchanted by the Pekingese breed and had begun breed- ing on a very small scale in his native Canada when he and Nigel Aubrey Jones first became pen pals and discov- ered a common passion. Eventually Bill came to Wales on what was supposed to be a brief visit, but turned into a much longer stay when he and Nigel realized that their futures were destined to be spent together. Bill possessed an inherent sense of style and dignity, but was frequently the butt of Nigel’s good-humored jokes. Nigel would often tell the story of his receiving Bill’s first letter. Not only was he rather taken with the accompany- ing photograph of the tall, handsome Canadian, he was equally impressed with Bill’s personal stationery… lav- ender notepaper with gold-embossed print that proclaimed, “Elsdon… where Pekingese breeding is still an art”. Bill, quite self-deprecatingly, later admitted that at the time he had bred— just bred—his first litter! Nigel and Bill became the perfect partnership as they complemented each other so beautifully. Nigel was the enter- tainer, loud and outrageous when it was appropriate, whereas Bill was consider- ably quieter, always happy to let Nigel take the limelight. I would love a pound for every time I heard Bill comment, after Nigel had been amusing the com- pany at the time, “He’s such a character.” However they shared the same beliefs, ideals and principles and together they pursued the quest to breed perfect Pekingese. They were utterly devoted to each other and Bill never fully recov- ered from Nigel’s passing.
Nigel would always mock him for his love of the “YMCA” song and his moves that accompanied the music. Secondly, I drove Bill to receive his Queen Eliza- beth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his “lifetime commitment to purebred dogs.” It was only on that day that I dis- covered that ‘R’ stood for Richard! I watched with much amusement as Bill couldn’t get up fast enough to make his way to the front of the line— so excited to have his photo taken with the Queen herself. The Royals fascinated him. On my last visit to see Bill I was wor- ried our dog Nigel would be too much for him on that day. I felt bad afterwards as the second I walked through the door on my own and Bill asked, “What, no Nigel?” At the end of every visit or phone call he would say give my love to Lise and Nigel. With everything he went through he was still so kind to all of us. Bill chose his friends wisely—his love for dogs and people—for all the right reasons. Our fancy is both grateful and thank- ful to Nancy for taking such good care of “The Mr’s”. We hope that the gardens bring you peace and a sense that they both will always be with us. Days before Christmas 2015 I spoke to Bill on the telephone, as I had done most weeks, keeping the promise I made to Nigel Aubrey Jones before he died twelve years ago. I realized this would probably be the last time I would hear his voice. Bill had battled bravely with terminal cancer for a few years and had coped remark- ably well, but the day before Christmas Eve he left Twynn Ponds, the beauti- ful home he and Nigel shared for many From andrEw BracE
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