LORRAINE TAYLOR

Lorraine was born to Jim and Ethel McIntosh, and grew up on a farm east of Simpson, Saskatchewan. While she was not particularly religious, she would recall with fondness going to Sunday school, although she mostly seemed to remember that she and her father would stop for a grape soda on the way home. 

Her life on the farm was a happy one, with her siblings Kenny, Marilyn, Dave, and Ed. Some oft-repeated childhood memories were when one or two of her older brothers lowered a small Lorraine into an outhouse pit to retrieve a lost piece of jewelry, or how when eating roast beef for dinner one night one of her brothers joked (?) by asking Lorraine if she had seen her pet cow “Old Blue” recently. 

Lorraine adored her parents, especially her RCAF veteran father Jim who died in 1975, even though he got her nylons every year for Christmas, as well as her aunts and uncles Jean, Elden, Bob, and Bill (and memory of Kenneth Vernon), and Aileen, Alice, and John; later in life she would correspond with Uncle Bob, Aunt Jean, and Aunt Alice about genealogy. 

She became an aunt at the age of 7 to Joanne and Kenny’s kids, first to Karla, and again soon after to Tracey, Krista, Kenneth Aaron, and Colin, then to Marilyn’s kids Jennifer and Jonathon, and to Ed’s son James. In 1975 she, the youngest McIntosh, married Randy, the youngest Taylor. They lived in Saskatchewan with their many siblings, nieces, and nephews, and ten years later had their only child, Chance. They settled in Winnipeg, joining Lorraine’s sister Marilyn and her family, and where extended family Mac, Janet, and Jill lived for a time. 

Lorraine loved decorating and cooking, even when a meal made up of things like roast and rutabaga was disparaged by her son as “farm food.” She had a lifelong aversion to turkey, which she pinpointed to a time in childhood when a turkey that had “gone purple” was dropped off for Christmas by a local farmer named “Beanpicker,” who according to Lorraine bore a strong resemblance to a turkey himself. She loved music, especially country and rock, with particular favourites being Buck Owens, Dwight Yoakam, The Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, Elton John, and Lee Hazlewood, although she incorrectly thought that The Rolling Stones were better than The Beatles.  

She was a voracious reader, regularly stopping at the library to take out armfuls of books at a time, and kept up with e-books using her Kindle and her iPad. She loved mystery novels and horror movies, thought romance movies were mortifying, and found Mr. Rogers creepy. She loved Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman, and John Travolta, although she covered her son’s eyes during certain scenes in “Saturday Night Fever.” She was also a lifelong lover of cats, with the most important in her life being Mow, Smoky, Dusty, Downy, Bounce, and Ethel (a skittish cat that shared a name with her mother). 

She spent the majority of her career with the Winnipeg School Division, and when she retired, she continued to work for the WANTE association for a time, and stayed in touch through the years with coworkers and friends. 

She maintained her sense of humor all the way, including a brief stint in the hospital where she and her son had a giggling fit brought on by a patient next door. Late in life when she had difficulty speaking, she always seemed able to clearly enunciate certain four-letter words. Go figure. 

Her family wishes to thank the incredible medical professionals who gave their best care—Dr. Frame, Dr. Mutchmor, Dr. Famuyide, the staff at CancerCare Manitoba, including the amazing Dr. Dawe, and the deeply compassionate doctors, nurses, and aides at Riverview Health Centre 3 East, who helped give her and her son comfort during her last week. That week involved a birthday visit from Lois, a flower cake arranged by Jen and Chris, listening to Elton John in the evening, and a sudden craving for chocolate milk. 

Lorraine’s family kindly requests that all of her friends and relatives take a few minutes to honour her memory by sharing photos, memories, and stories, using the comment section on this page.

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

530 St. Mary Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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