Ryan Wilbert Taylor

1950 - 2006  (56 years)

• Name	Ryan Wilbert Taylor
  Born	18 Jun 1950	Oshawa, Ontario Co., Ontario
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	librarian
  Occupation	Fort Wayne, Allen, Indiana, USA
  	librarian
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-90679
  Died	25 Sep 2006	Niagara River, Welland Co., Ontario
  Person ID	I90679	Generations
  Last Modified	6 Apr 2024

  
  

• Photos

  Ryan Taylor

  
  

• Notes

  Ryan Taylor 18 June1950 - 25 September 2006 Ronald Ryan Wilbert Taylor, a great friend of our Branch and champion of family history, passed away on the 25th of September, 2006. His legacy is huge, and the thousands of people who benefited from his expertise over past decades will surely miss his guidance, his jovial countenance, and his remarkable insights into the world of historical research. For more than twenty-five years Ryan contributed to the genealogical well-being of Waterloo Region. A large component of that was with the Waterloo-Wellington Branch of OGS, where he served in many capacities, including branch chair and newsletter editor. But it was in the Grace Schmidt Room of Local History at the Kitchener Public Library that he really came into his own. Many of us will remember the way he nurtured our interests, as we tentatively entered the wonderful world of census returns, tax assessments, and other mysterious documents of the past. Ryan was always there to encourage and advise. Later, in 1993, Ryan commenced writing his "Tracing Your Roots" columns for The Kitchener Record . His articles were full of new ideas and interesting possibilities, bringing the world of genealogy to a much wider audience. He also broadcast "Bookmark", a review programme on CFCA-FM radio in Kitchener from 1983 to 1992. In 2001, Ryan prepared a new edition of his much loved "Family Research in Waterloo County", making the proceeds from sales of this publication a generous and lasting gift to Waterloo Branch - a gift that will be cherished by Waterloo County researchers for years to come. Born in Oshawa, Ryan was the third and youngest child of Charles Henry and Robena Velma (Woodward) Taylor. He began working on family history at the age of fourteen and soon developed an insatiable fascination for this hobby. He was educated at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. Library work took him to Manitoba in 1972. Then, upon return to Ontario, he brought his special level of excellence to the communities of Sudbury and Ottawa and to the counties of Waterloo and Wellington. Ryan conceived and initiated the Oral History programme at KPL, resulting in a resource of well over 600 interviews with local residents, each helping to document life in our Region. Eventually Ryan was offered a position at the National Library of Canada. From there he took up his final position at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A colleague at ACPL said, "He continually focused on what would be best for our library customers, what would make an item most quickly and easily found by the greatest number of individuals - reminding us all of why we are here. It is so very hard to say goodbye to such an individual." These are sentiments that also will echo throughout Ontario! From 1988 to 1997 Ryan served as Editor of the OGS publication Families . He compiled an impressive list of publications, too numerous to mention here. His wonderful voice, infectious laughter, and generous nature made him a perfect lecturer and spokesperson for the genealogical world. He was constantly in demand all across North America and occasionally in the United Kingdom, never ceasing to inspire and instruct. Ryan also served on the faculty of the National Institute of Genealogical Studies, whose courses are given online through the extension program of the Faculty of Library and Information Science, University of Toronto. He was co-host of "Branching Out", a genealogical phone-in television show in Fort Wayne, from 1997 to 1999. He also is one of the panelists on Ancestors in the Attic, a History TV show. He died after taping the final episode, but before the telecast of the first episode. Ryan was a wonderful, dear, kind friend to many of us. On a personal note, Ryan and I shared many joyful times over a good many years - gadding together in England, tearing across Ontario researching our books, getting stuck in snowstorms, giggling together in Archives when discovering amusing details, and enjoying quiet times too, dinners and pleasurable chatting. We will miss him, but his splendid legacy lives on. Frances Hoffman1a Waterloo Kin 2006 Vol 2,3

  
  

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  Born - 18 Jun 1950 - Oshawa, Ontario Co., Ontario Occupation - librarian - - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - librarian - - Fort Wayne, Allen, Indiana, USA  = Link to Google Earth