Patricia Taylor Canavan

Patricia “Patty” Jane Taylor Canavan was a loving wife, mother, sister, aunt, and friend. She passed away on Tuesday, October 19, 2021 at the age of 74 surrounded by family when she lost her battle to corticobasal degeneration, an aggressive brain disease.

A proud native Dallasite, she was born to Irby and Marion Taylor on October 12, 1947. She attended Highland Park High School, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, and earned her Master’s Degree in Architecture from the University of Texas at Arlington. In graduate school, she met her husband, Robert “Bob” Canavan, Jr. Together they had a beautiful and loving marriage for 45 years and raised their two daughters and too many pets.

It’s impossible to capture the spirit, warmth, and kindness of an amazing woman who made friends everywhere she went. Patty put her heart into everything she did, always with a smile and her trademark laugh which could be heard from rooms away. In remembering Patty since her passing, friends have remarked on her selfless spirit, bright light, infectious laugh, kind soul, creative ambitions, special friendship, sense of fun, and joy of life.

Patty loved traveling with her family, going to the movies with Bob, learning how to play the ukulele with Kelly, watching Dallas Cowboys games with Katie, playing bridge with all her friends, attending her summer camp annual reunions, visiting dear friends in Louisiana, reading murder mysteries, finishing crossword puzzles, researching genealogy, volunteering at her local library, and being a member of the DAR.

She is survived by her husband Bob; her daughters, Kelly Canavan and husband Andy Phillips, Katie Lynch and husband John Lynch; her brother Tom Taylor and his wife Marla; her beloved nieces and nephew and their partners. She is also survived by her Rhode Island Family, mother-in-law Catherine Canavan, sister-in-law Cathleen Canavan and her husband Chris Dewhirst, and brother-in-law Marty Canavan.

A memorial service will be held at Ted Dickey West Funeral Home (George Bush Turnpike & Coit Road) on November 11th at 2pm. Vaccinations and masks are mandatory. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration in her honor.