William James (Jim) Taylor was born November 26, 1917 in Lethbridge. After completing school, he worked for Dench Trucking in Red Deer. He volunteered for service in the Canadian Army in 1943 and trained at Camrose. He was assigned to the 65th Tank Transporter Company Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (Calgary Tanks) and served in England and then to France on D-Day +4, and through Belgium, Netherlands, and Denmark. He was also a motorcycle dispatch rider and rode Harleys and British bikes. He earned the Defense Medal. 1939-1945 Star, War Medal 1939-1945, France and Germany Star and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Overseas Service Bar. When Jim, who had the childhood name “Buck”, returned to Lethbridge, he married his sweetheart, Helen George in June, 1946. They had five children, Ken, Duane, Robert, Marianne and Donna. Jim worked for Crystal Dairy as a sales rep. and travelled throughout southern Alberta. He was involved in several community organizations including the Elks, Optimists, Association of Canadian Travellers, Knights of Columbus, the Miner’s Library, and the Junior Chamber of Commerce, as well as several boards and committees. His passion was baseball and he managed and coached the first Lethbridge junior baseball teams, including the Miners and Elks. He was a proud member of the Royal Canadian Legion for 53 years. He died on October 19, 2010.
