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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, December 17, 2015 | 18 Shirley Taylor's family ran Very's Flowers for 100 years by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff Lifelong Oakville resident, Shirley Ruth Taylor, died suddenly at the age of 89 on Monday, Dec. 7. Taylor (nee Very) was predeceased by her husband Peter nine years earlier, and is survived by her son Paul Taylor, daughter Jane Demers, their respective spouses, six grandchildren and a great-grandchild. "Both my sister and I were adopted... essentially from birth and they were great parents," Paul told the Oakville Beaver. "I feel privileged to have been raised by them." Taylor, a long-time employee of the Oakville Beaver, was said to have been very proud of her family's history as the owners of Very's Flowers, a multigenerational greenhouse and floral business. Opened in 1910, the flower shop is one of Oakville's longest-running floral businesses, said Margaret DeVries, who bought the venture from the family five years ago. "When I bought the business, (Shirley) came in because it was the family business being purchased by someone outside the family, but we always promised that the Very's name would continue and it has," said DeVries. Paul said that was particularly significant to his mother. "They (Taylor's parents) ran this luxury business of selling cut flowers during the Depression and I have no idea how they did that, survived and kept the family together," said Paul. "I know for her, keeping the Very name and being a part of that family was huge." The shop will be providing the flowers for Taylor's funeral which is to take place Friday (Dec. 18). Visitation at Oakview Funeral Home, 56 Lakeshore Rd. W., is at 2 p.m. on the same day, followed by the funeral service at 3 p.m. Paul said his mother was a bit of an atypical woman for her era -- Taylor was born in 1926 and married Peter in 1949. "It was common in the '50s and '60s for women to stay in the home and be housewives... and she wasn't like that. From a relatively early age she went to work, really most of her career was spent at the Beaver ," he said. Taylor worked at her local newspaper as a sales representative. "She and my father did a truly wonderful job of balancing the Shirley Taylor domestic chores. It was a pretty nontraditional family that way," said Paul. "The Beaver was published one day a week back in those days, so there was an odd day in the weekly pattern when she was largely at home and didn't have to work and there were other days when she'd put in an 18hour day at deadline time and my father would be the one to get dinner on and so on. "I guess she was a bit of a modern woman... it never occurred to either of them that she should stay home," he mused. After retirement, Taylor and her husband were very involved in the community, particularly with the Oakville Lions Club and the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides -- the latter operates today on Wilson Street, near Kerr and Rebecca streets, land once owned by the Very family. "It was a huge part of their lives. They went to conventions all over North America and made a significant contribution," said Paul, noting his parents were very involved when the Lions Foundation of Canada Guide Dogs was founded. As a result, anyone interested in making a monetary donation in memory of Taylor is asked to do so to the Lions Foundation. Paul said one of his mother's fondest memories was when she and Peter, a Second World War veteran, took part in the 40th anniversary of D-Day. "It was a real highlight for her... a whole group of veterans and their spouses travelled back and retraced that journey through Europe all the way to Germany and I know that was a huge event for her," Paul added. Family memories were also made during the many family summer vacations taken at the Sandy Beach Resort, near Fenelon Falls in Kawartha Lakes, where Taylor and her husband spent time with their children and grandchildren. Taylor's family said while the matriarch liked to describe herself as "feisty," in recent years, they would remember her most as "a very loving and devoted mother and grandmother." A digital condolence book is available online at http://goo.gl/ dyQ7fu and some have already taken to leaving messages. "Mrs. Taylor was my godmother growing up. Although we had been out of touch for many years, I'll never forget the kindness, smiles and laughter that came so easily to her. Thank you for the wonderful memories, and heartfelt condolences to Paul, Jane and your families," wrote David Ridley of Kanata, Ont. "`Taylor' was a very special lady, who was our next door neighbour for many years. This (Taylor) was my nickname for her, as I was very young (my mom tried to correct me, but `Taylor' loved it)," wrote Patricia Copperthwaite, who now lives in Brockville, Ont. "This has stuck all through the years, even earlier this year, I spoke with her and she asked me to repeat the nickname. I have many fond memories of this special lady, and you have a special angel to guide you through this difficult time. 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