Vern Taylor (1931 — Oct 24, 2015)
Vern Taylor was a part of Kahshe Lake history. He grew up at the Housey's Rapids General Store and Post Office that his parents ran from 1934 to 1957. As soon as Vern was old enough, he was helping his parents, often driving the delivery boat that served the needs of cottagers on Kahshe.
When Hydro arrived in the area in 1949, Vern worked on the crew that put in the main line, and also wired many of the new cottages with the minimum requirement: one light and one outlet! In the 1950s Vern and his wife, Barbara Churchill, whose family was also early cottaged, built their first cottage, where they raised three boys, Kim, Chris, and Andrew. Water sports and boats were the center of their lives, and the “seaflea” addiction was born when Vern built the first boat for the boys in the 60s.
Life was good for the family until the summer of 1981 when Barbara was killed in a car accident. Their lives were changed forever. As fate would have it, the lake was to bring another Barbara (Petersen) into Vern's life in 1982, a cottage friendship that joined their two families forever, and added sons Kim and Vagn Petersen to the “crew.” Life at the cottage became almost a year-round thing for Vern when he retired in 1986.
A new cottage, built on the lake in 1984, grew to become a permanent home for Vern and Barb by 1992, and Vern's dream of returning to the lake was complete. One of the highlights of Vern's life was when Andrew and his wife also bought property on the lake. Vern spent many hours on the lake, water skiing, windsurfing, and helping all the folks around him. Often Vern would be the first out on the open water in the spring. The wonderful friends on the lake continued to make boating trips a treat.
Vern was well known as the John Deere man who wouldn't think of going away in the winter as he felt people relied on him to clear their roads. We all know that Vern was well-known for far more than that. Summers were spent close to the lake which meant that trips were planned for spring and fall. In the later years, Vern found great joy in traveling across Canada by train, many times. While Vern was suffering from cancer, life went on in a new normal. Family and friends added spice to our lives. Memories were made to the last moments. Vern passed away at his home on the lake, on October 24, 2015. We know well that he will always be here in our hearts.