TAGGART, Norman

November 29, 1926 - March 7, 2024

It is with deep regret we say goodbye to Norm, a beloved husband, father and grandfather. He was the much loved and only son of Sam and Isabella Taggart who emigrated to Canada from Northern Ireland in 1926 looking for a better life. Norman was born in New Westminster and lived his youth in various different houses in New Westminster and Burnaby. As it was the Depression era, his family had to move many times because his dad survived by building and selling homes. Norm attended Trapp Technical High School and UBC where he studied Engineering in the 1940's. In the 1950's he started his own construction business, beginning with building houses for an architect friend as well as including two houses designed by Arthur Erickson. He won two awards, one in 1960 and the other in 1964 from the Design Council of Canada. In the early 60's he started building larger projects including schools and other public buildings. He retired at around 60 years old. His passion was skiing which he started in the middle 1940's. He took a streetcar, then a ferry, and walked up to ski on Hollyburn Mountain. Afterwards he started skiing on Mount Seymour where he built two cabins. For the first cabin, he and a friend had to carry everything on their backs which he did most weekends for a year. This was a log cabin. He later built a lumber cabin, and at that time a road had been built up Mount Seymour. He married Muriel Reid in 1957, and they built a home in Coquitlam where he lived for the rest of his life. At this point, tennis became another important part of his life. He and Muriel belonged to the New Westminster Tennis Club, then Western Indoor Club in Richmond. He always said that one of the best parts of his life was playing tennis with his friends at Western Indoor. His daughter Oona was born in 1959, and his son, Hugh in 1962. He never got over the death of his son following an accident in 1974. Norman was always active and involved in his children's and grandchildren's sports. He coached lacrosse and softball. Norm and Muriel bought a condo in Sun Valley, Idaho in 1978 and for the next 30 years they went there to ski in the winter and play tennis and hike in the summer. They bought a motorhome and traveled to the four corners of North America accompanied by their schnauzer Max. They continued travelling in the US and Canada in their motorhome and also had several trips to Europe, New Zealand and Ecuador. Norm loved dogs, and he usually had one by his side. He will be missed by his beloved wife Muriel of 66 years, his daughter, Oona,(Patrick) and his two grandchildren, Brendan and Talia Barnum and their father, David Barnum. A celebration of life will be planned at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations could be made to the charity of your choice. Norm was a generous donator to many charities.