In Memoriam - Peter Taylor - 1946-2007

Peter Raymond Taylor

1946 ~ 2007

Peter Taylor was my father for as long as I can remember. He didn’t like to be made a fuss of. Even when it came to his birthday, he only ever wanted deodorant and socks. But I’m proud to be his son, and I’m happy to boast of how wonderful he was.

Dad had an infectious personality, and he loved to tell stories, even if you’d heard them before and knew how they ended. He loved telling jokes, but had a dismally small repertoire, which resulted in a lot of repeated punch lines. I lost count of the number of times I heard him say “I’d give my right arm to be ambidextrous”.

Dad was a non-conformist who did things his way. He didn’t like working in a suit. Even now, he’s wearing jeans and a t-shirt. And he taught me how to shave with a manual razor over the phone.

He often got called a Barnabas – an encourager. I saw this in action many times. He would never shy away from an opportunity to encourage or uplift someone when he saw the need.

Dad was a great giver, too. Not just of his finances, but also his time. He used to like sharing certain things exclusively with those close to him. With me, our special times were spent at Warriors matches. When I first convinced him to buy a season ticket, in 2000, we entered the stadium as a father and son, but over the following seven seasons, we grew together as best friends – my closest male friend was a baby boomer! We would talk about anything and everything: league, of course, but also religion, politics, girls, relationships, and life in general. That was where our friendship grew and blossomed, in Row L, seats 3 and 4. We laughed, we cried, (and as Warriors fans we were entitled to our fair share of tears), and we booed and cheered our way through each match.

Dad’s seat was empty last week, but I cheered on his behalf, and the team’s win was a fitting tribute to him. The ground announcer also spoke of his passing prior to the match, passing on the club's condolences as more than 16,000 people silently heard of Dad's dedication to the club.

Peter Taylor was a humble gentleman with a big heart for anyone, friends and strangers alike, who just needed love. It seems only fitting that it should be his heart that eventually called him up to heaven.