James "Jim" Taylor

May 20, 1928 – April 25, 2025

Jim Taylor passed away after a short illness at his home in Nisbet Lodge on April 25th 2025, just short of his 97th birthday. He will be greatly missed by his nephews (John and Peter Chittick) and his niece (Kate Fitzgibbons) and their partners and children, and by Valorie and Doug Virgin and their family, his many friends at Greenwood Gospel Chapel, and long-time friends in St. Williams, Port Rowan and Richmond Hill.

More than anything, Jim loved being with people. He drew great strength from many close and long- lasting bonds of friendship throughout his life. He treated everyone the same: with warmth, curiosity, and wit. Children and young people loved him and more than a few would say he was a “legend”.

Born in Woodstock, the only son of Wallace and Emma Taylor, he was predeceased by his elder sister Nancy. Nancy and her husband Bob Chittick supported Jim in countless ways for many years.

As a young child, Jim suffered from severe whooping cough which resulted in lifelong cognitive challenges. Later, he moved to St. Williams in southwestern Ontario where he worked on a farm for many years. In later years, he recalled the joy of his part-time job selling Regal greeting cards as he rode his bicycle around the Long Point communities. We are thankful to Charlotte Heinrichs for sharing stories of this period of Jim’s life.

Moving to L’Arche Daybreak, a community home & farm in Richmond Hill, he attended school for the first time and became a proficient and prolific letter writer and diarist. Achieving personal independence soon became Jim’s goal and he moved to East Toronto’s Greenwood area where he lived for many years, working as a kitchen porter for almost two decades at the “Sisters of St Joseph” in north Toronto.

After retiring in the 1990s and moving first to the independent living community of St Clair- O’Connor, he finally settled in Nisbet Lodge where he was to spend the final decade of his life. Nisbet was the perfect place for Jim to pursue his two great passions: people and Bingo. He knew and called everyone by name, and occasionally invented new names to suit his fancy. And his Bingo skills and verbal repartee with the caller were justifiably well known.

But Jim’s most profound purpose in life was Christian and his connection to the Greenwood Gospel Chapel and its community was deep. For over forty years, the love, friendship and support of Valorie Virgin, her husband Doug, and the entire Virgin family were the bedrock of Jim’s existence. Jim’s family deeply appreciate the many, many kindnesses that Val especially gave to Jim and that contributed greatly to him leading the very long and happy life that he did.

A memorial service will be held on Tuesday May 20th at Greenwood Gospel Chapel, 949 Greenwood Avenue, Toronto ON M4J 4C5. Doors will open at 5:00pm, with the service beginning at 6:00pm. Everyone is very welcome.

We are all very grateful to the kind, capable staff of Nisbet Lodge who cared for Jim in his later years. If you would like to make a donation in Jim’s memory, we would encourage you to support Nisbet Lodge Foundation, 740 Pape Avenue, Toronto ON M4K 3S7.

Family and friends may gather on Tuesday May 20, 2025 from 5:00pm at Greenwood Gospel Chapel, 949 Greenwood Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M4J 4C5. A Memorial Service will follow at 6:00pm.