James Richard Taylor

A celebration of life will take place on Sunday, December 6th from 2:00 to 4:00 at the University of Guelph Arboretum Centre.

James R. Taylor, landscape architect, educator, author, and mentor whose work helped shape the profession in Canada and abroad died peacefully in Guelph, Ontario, in the company of family and friends following three years of treatment for multiple myeloma.

Born June 19, 1940, in Grinnell, Iowa, to Gilbert Taylor and Mary Waldbusser, Jim valued his early years growing up on a farm near Kellogg, Iowa. His first schooling was in a one-room schoolhouse, where, as the oldest and tallest student, he became known as “Tex.” Jim learned to play the accordion and for several years entertained families in the area at the Grange. As a teenager, his comic book collection included issues of “Mr. Attorney” and he often expressed his early interest in having a big desk with lots of telephones.

Jim also developed an early appreciation for architecture and design. He had a lifelong affection for “going to the bank,” inspired by Louis Sullivan’s Merchants National Bank in Grinnell. It was there that he deposited the earnings from raising Duroc hogs, helping to finance his university education.

Jim began his professional education in landscape architecture at Iowa State University and continued with graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley. There he studied under Thomas Church, Garrett Eckbo, Robert Royston, and Lawrence Halprin, four of the leading figures in the modern movement in landscape architecture. Following graduation, Jim worked with Royston, Hanamoto, Mayes and Beck, one of California’s leading landscape architecture firms during the 1960s.

In 1967, eager for new challenges, Jim joined his Berkeley classmate Cameron Man in Winnipeg. Together they eventually formed the multidisciplinary firm Man Taylor Muret & Urquhart. Their early work included large-scale planning, urban design, and environmental planning projects throughout western Canada and the North.

Seeking to build on their early success, Jim and his partners established the Lombard North Group, with offices across Western Canada. The firm undertook significant projects, including Calgary’s Fish Creek Provincial Park, Canada’s first urban provincial park, and Cypress Hills Provincial Park. They also prepared environmental impact assessments for the Northern Mackenzie Highway and the Northern Gas Pipeline. By the mid-1970s, their multidisciplinary team included biologists, ecologists, and geographers, as well as planners, engineers, and landscape architects—an approach that reflected Jim’s belief in the value of bringing diverse disciplines together in planning and design.

Jim joined the faculty of landscape architecture at the University of Guelph in 1984, where he taught design and environmental planning and advised numerous graduate students. He served as Director of the School of Landscape Architecture from 1993 to 1999. At the University, he contributed to planning for the Arboretum, Cruikston Park Farm, and several campus master plans. He was made Professor Emeritus upon retiring in 2005. His textbook, The Practice of Landscape Architecture in Canada, now in its third edition, has become widely used by students and practitioners.

Jim remained active in the profession throughout his career. He served as President of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects and as Vice President of the International Federation of Landscape Architects. He was instrumental in developing and delivering capacity-building programs in Africa and Latin America, work for which he received the President’s Medal from the American Society of Landscape Architects. He was made a Fellow of the CSLA, ASLA, and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture. In 1992, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in recognition of his significant contributions to landscape architecture, education and his community.

Jim met his wife, Cecelia Paine, through their shared professional interests, fostered by their common Midwest farm backgrounds. For more than 35 years, they travelled together regularly to conferences, where they presented academic papers and conducted workshops or simply enjoyed experiencing new landscapes. Jim particularly enjoyed collecting conference delegate name tags from his travels abroad—a small reminder of the many people and places that became part of his professional life.

At home, Jim relaxed by watching golf, football, basketball and curling. Nothing was more important in the spring than March Madness, or in the fall than his beloved Iowa State University football team, the Cyclones.

Community and landscape remained central to Jim’s life. He served as President of Trees for Guelph for 25 years and enjoyed Saturdays spent planting trees with community groups. After he and Cecelia purchased Smoky Creek Farm, Jim became involved with several North Wellington Township committees. The farm also provided a place for family life, where his son Zachary and grandson Sam joined them for weekend projects and snow-shooing, cross-country skiing, corn hole, and croquet.

Jim was preceded in death by his sister, Jan (Andy Larkin). He is survived by his devoted wife, Cecelia; his beloved son, Zachary (Jenny Hall), and cherished grandson, Sam, of London, Ontario; his brother, John (Barbara) Taylor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and the many nieces and nephews in the Taylor family. He is also fondly remembered by Cecelia’s family, especially Jeannea, his adopted sister.

Jim’s professional legacy is reflected in the landscapes he helped shape, the students and colleagues he mentored, and the development of landscape architecture in Canada and internationally. His curiosity, generosity, commitment to education, and enthusiasm for bringing people and disciplines together will be remembered by the many communities he touched.

Cecelia would like to thank the doctors, nurses, staff, and volunteers at the Waterloo Regional Cancer Centre and Hospice Wellington for their care and support.

Donations in Jim’s memory may be made to the University of Guelph Arboretum or to the Cancer Research Society.