Carol Rose Taylor (1960 — Jan 31, 2019)

My wife had always been a “cottage” girl growing up and spending the summers at her family’s cottage on Lake Simcoe. I, on the other hand, grew up and spent my summers on Kahshe Lake at the Housey’s Rapid’s end. The irony is that even though my home was only five minutes down the road from Carol’s family cottage, we never met until many years later when we were both working at the Hudson’s Bay Company in Toronto while attending University.  Long story short, “city girl” meets “country boy,” they get married, build a home on Lake Simcoe, have kids, and live happily ever after…well…not really…. you see, cancer has a way of changing things.

Even though we built our own house on the shores of Lake Simcoe, it was not a cottage. To us, cottage life was smaller lakes, calm waters, soaring white pines, and screened-in porches. As time went on, we both realized that even though our home was on the lake, it was definitely not the “cottage” way of life.  Eventually, as the houses around us on Lake Simcoe became larger, closer, and more “glamorous,” we decided that we wanted our kids to spend the summers in a more family-friendly environment away from the noise, the people and the huge pounding waves so often found on larger lakes.  

In the spring of 2016, we were fortunate to find our perfect Muskoka getaway on Kluey’s Bay.  After 30 minutes of walking around the property, Carol insisted we put in an offer that very evening, and by the next day we were the proud new owners of “Sunny Lodge” a 1940s building situated on a sand and rocky shoreline. For Carol, this was what the cottage was all about.   “Sunny Lodge” very much reminded her of the old cottage she grew up with but which had since been torn down and replaced with a new cookie-cutter monster home.   

Although she only experienced three years at our cottage, those were by far the best summers of her life. She marveled at the abundance of water lilies that covered our small bay and listened in wonder to the night sounds of the whip-poor-will.  She gave names to “her” pair of loons who frequented our shores and even tolerated the water snakes who would often slither onto our deck boat to warm up in the sun.   

Of all the things she loved most though were the many flowers she planted around our cottage and “Chippy” our resident “pet” who gorged on a never-ending supply of peanuts. I am saddened that she will never get to see our two young boys fully realize the significance of spending those “endless” warm days swimming, boating, splashing, and laughing on Kahshe Lake. Our dreams of retiring together on Kluey’s Bay have now been swept away since her passing in January. I miss her dearly but take solace in the fact that her love of this lake will live on in eternity.