Mendocino resident Bruce Tickell Taylor was born in Seoul, Korea, on February 28, 1919, the day before Koreans issued their Declaration of Independence from Japan.
Bruce was born to Albert Wilder and Mary Linley Taylor. A.W. was an American mining engineer who owned a gold mine and an import-export company in Seoul. Mary was an English actress, artist, and author.
The Korean Declaration of Independence was printed in the hospital basement the night of Bruce's birth. When police raided the hospital, a copy was hidden in the bed of Bruce's mother and her newborn son. Bruce's father, who had been appointed Special Correspondent with the Associated Press, discovered the declaration while visiting his wife and son in the hospital. A.W. Taylor sent his brother to Japan with the document in the hollowed-out heel of his shoe, to evade local censorship and cable the news to America. This act, along with A.W.'s photographic documentation and reporting of a Japanese massacre of Koreans who were celebrating, led the Governor to stop the carnage, saving thousands of lives.
When Bruce's father became ill a few years later, they sought a cure in California. There, Bruce attended private school for four years before continuing on to eight years of boarding school in England. He returned to Korea in 1937, to see his parents and to learn the family import-export and gold mining businesses. After three years at home in Korea, Bruce returned to College of Marin to study Mining Geology. Bruce then spent four years in the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theater of War and was stationed in Hawaii during the Pearl Harbor attack. After his parents' expulsion from Seoul by the Japanese during World War II, they settled in California.
A divided Korea ended the family business and Bruce pursued a teaching career. On the first day of July 1950, he married Joyce Phipps in Seaford, Sussex, England. They settled in Marin County, California and had two children, Peter and Jennifer. They subsequently lived in Sonoma County where Bruce taught elementary school for thirty years.
Bruce's mother, Mary Linley Taylor, a founding member of the Mendocino Art Center and the Mendocino Theater Company, moved to Mendocino in 1962 where she wrote "Chain of Amber," a book about her life's adventures. After Bruce's retirement from education in 1993, Bruce and Joyce moved into Mary's home in Mendocino.
In 2006, Bruce, Joyce, and daughter, Jennifer, went to Korea to participate in a TV documentary "Father's Country." In recognition of his family's role in an important part of Korean history, Bruce was given Honorary Citizenship of Seoul by Mayor Lee Myung Bak, who later became President South Korea.
Bruce was an avid swimmer and practitioner of The Five Tibetan Rights and enjoyed walking around the Headlands and streets of Mendocino, striking up conversations with locals and tourists alike. His interests included writing, the study of foreign languages and a life-long dedication to improvements in education. In this, he was the U.S. Representative for SEAL, The Society for Effective Affective Learning, an international education society based in London, with members in over 40 countries.
Bruce Taylor published an autobiography, "Dilkusha by the Ginkgo Tree," in 2010. An excerpt from the book reads, "I was a miner, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, teacher. These are my recollections of the end of two empires - the Japanese and the British - of growing up in Korea, America, and England; of visits to forty other lands, and of making myself understood in ten languages."
Bruce was an incredible man, a devoted husband and father, full of wonderful stories - fascinating and varied. He was curious about all subjects and was always studying something new. He was an inspiration to all who knew him and never lost his desire to live fully and be productive.
Bruce and Joyce Taylor enjoyed a loving marriage lasting sixty-two years, one month, and sixteen days. After Joyce's death in August of 2013, Bruce devoted his remaining days to writing a book about her entitled "Joyce Phipps, The British Consul General's Daughter." It was his goal to finish this book as a final act of love for his darling wife. He was able to accomplish this before passing away peacefully on the afternoon of April 19th.
There will be a celebration of Bruce's life at the home of his daughter, Jennifer Taylor, at 45340 Little Lake St., Mendocino, at 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday May 2, 2015. Anyone who knew Bruce or was touched by him is welcome to attend.
Published in Fort Bragg Advocate-News on Apr. 30, 2015
- See more at: http://obituaries.advocate-news.com/obituaries/advocate-news/obituary.aspx?pid=174731565#sthash.Rm3Nwego.dpuf
Bruce was born to Albert Wilder and Mary Linley Taylor. A.W. was an American mining engineer who owned a gold mine and an import-export company in Seoul. Mary was an English actress, artist, and author.
The Korean Declaration of Independence was printed in the hospital basement the night of Bruce's birth. When police raided the hospital, a copy was hidden in the bed of Bruce's mother and her newborn son. Bruce's father, who had been appointed Special Correspondent with the Associated Press, discovered the declaration while visiting his wife and son in the hospital. A.W. Taylor sent his brother to Japan with the document in the hollowed-out heel of his shoe, to evade local censorship and cable the news to America. This act, along with A.W.'s photographic documentation and reporting of a Japanese massacre of Koreans who were celebrating, led the Governor to stop the carnage, saving thousands of lives.
When Bruce's father became ill a few years later, they sought a cure in California. There, Bruce attended private school for four years before continuing on to eight years of boarding school in England. He returned to Korea in 1937, to see his parents and to learn the family import-export and gold mining businesses. After three years at home in Korea, Bruce returned to College of Marin to study Mining Geology. Bruce then spent four years in the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theater of War and was stationed in Hawaii during the Pearl Harbor attack. After his parents' expulsion from Seoul by the Japanese during World War II, they settled in California.
A divided Korea ended the family business and Bruce pursued a teaching career. On the first day of July 1950, he married Joyce Phipps in Seaford, Sussex, England. They settled in Marin County, California and had two children, Peter and Jennifer. They subsequently lived in Sonoma County where Bruce taught elementary school for thirty years.
Bruce's mother, Mary Linley Taylor, a founding member of the Mendocino Art Center and the Mendocino Theater Company, moved to Mendocino in 1962 where she wrote "Chain of Amber," a book about her life's adventures. After Bruce's retirement from education in 1993, Bruce and Joyce moved into Mary's home in Mendocino.
In 2006, Bruce, Joyce, and daughter, Jennifer, went to Korea to participate in a TV documentary "Father's Country." In recognition of his family's role in an important part of Korean history, Bruce was given Honorary Citizenship of Seoul by Mayor Lee Myung Bak, who later became President South Korea.
Bruce was an avid swimmer and practitioner of The Five Tibetan Rights and enjoyed walking around the Headlands and streets of Mendocino, striking up conversations with locals and tourists alike. His interests included writing, the study of foreign languages and a life-long dedication to improvements in education. In this, he was the U.S. Representative for SEAL, The Society for Effective Affective Learning, an international education society based in London, with members in over 40 countries.
Bruce Taylor published an autobiography, "Dilkusha by the Ginkgo Tree," in 2010. An excerpt from the book reads, "I was a miner, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, teacher. These are my recollections of the end of two empires - the Japanese and the British - of growing up in Korea, America, and England; of visits to forty other lands, and of making myself understood in ten languages."
Bruce was an incredible man, a devoted husband and father, full of wonderful stories - fascinating and varied. He was curious about all subjects and was always studying something new. He was an inspiration to all who knew him and never lost his desire to live fully and be productive.
Bruce and Joyce Taylor enjoyed a loving marriage lasting sixty-two years, one month, and sixteen days. After Joyce's death in August of 2013, Bruce devoted his remaining days to writing a book about her entitled "Joyce Phipps, The British Consul General's Daughter." It was his goal to finish this book as a final act of love for his darling wife. He was able to accomplish this before passing away peacefully on the afternoon of April 19th.
There will be a celebration of Bruce's life at the home of his daughter, Jennifer Taylor, at 45340 Little Lake St., Mendocino, at 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday May 2, 2015. Anyone who knew Bruce or was touched by him is welcome to attend.
Published in Fort Bragg Advocate-News on Apr. 30, 2015
- See more at: http://obituaries.advocate-news.com/obituaries/advocate-news/obituary.aspx?pid=174731565#sthash.Rm3Nwego.dpuf
Mendocino resident Bruce Tickell Taylor was born in Seoul, Korea, on February 28, 1919, the day before Koreans issued their Declaration of Independence from Japan.
Bruce was born to Albert Wilder and Mary Linley Taylor. A.W. was an American mining engineer who owned a gold mine and an import-export company in Seoul. Mary was an English actress, artist, and author.
The Korean Declaration of Independence was printed in the hospital basement the night of Bruce's birth. When police raided the hospital, a copy was hidden in the bed of Bruce's mother and her newborn son. Bruce's father, who had been appointed Special Correspondent with the Associated Press, discovered the declaration while visiting his wife and son in the hospital. A.W. Taylor sent his brother to Japan with the document in the hollowed-out heel of his shoe, to evade local censorship and cable the news to America. This act, along with A.W.'s photographic documentation and reporting of a Japanese massacre of Koreans who were celebrating, led the Governor to stop the carnage, saving thousands of lives.
When Bruce's father became ill a few years later, they sought a cure in California. There, Bruce attended private school for four years before continuing on to eight years of boarding school in England. He returned to Korea in 1937, to see his parents and to learn the family import-export and gold mining businesses. After three years at home in Korea, Bruce returned to College of Marin to study Mining Geology. Bruce then spent four years in the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theater of War and was stationed in Hawaii during the Pearl Harbor attack. After his parents' expulsion from Seoul by the Japanese during World War II, they settled in California.
A divided Korea ended the family business and Bruce pursued a teaching career. On the first day of July 1950, he married Joyce Phipps in Seaford, Sussex, England. They settled in Marin County, California and had two children, Peter and Jennifer. They subsequently lived in Sonoma County where Bruce taught elementary school for thirty years.
Bruce's mother, Mary Linley Taylor, a founding member of the Mendocino Art Center and the Mendocino Theater Company, moved to Mendocino in 1962 where she wrote "Chain of Amber," a book about her life's adventures. After Bruce's retirement from education in 1993, Bruce and Joyce moved into Mary's home in Mendocino.
In 2006, Bruce, Joyce, and daughter, Jennifer, went to Korea to participate in a TV documentary "Father's Country." In recognition of his family's role in an important part of Korean history, Bruce was given Honorary Citizenship of Seoul by Mayor Lee Myung Bak, who later became President South Korea.
Bruce was an avid swimmer and practitioner of The Five Tibetan Rights and enjoyed walking around the Headlands and streets of Mendocino, striking up conversations with locals and tourists alike. His interests included writing, the study of foreign languages and a life-long dedication to improvements in education. In this, he was the U.S. Representative for SEAL, The Society for Effective Affective Learning, an international education society based in London, with members in over 40 countries.
Bruce Taylor published an autobiography, "Dilkusha by the Ginkgo Tree," in 2010. An excerpt from the book reads, "I was a miner, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, teacher. These are my recollections of the end of two empires - the Japanese and the British - of growing up in Korea, America, and England; of visits to forty other lands, and of making myself understood in ten languages."
Bruce was an incredible man, a devoted husband and father, full of wonderful stories - fascinating and varied. He was curious about all subjects and was always studying something new. He was an inspiration to all who knew him and never lost his desire to live fully and be productive.
Bruce and Joyce Taylor enjoyed a loving marriage lasting sixty-two years, one month, and sixteen days. After Joyce's death in August of 2013, Bruce devoted his remaining days to writing a book about her entitled "Joyce Phipps, The British Consul General's Daughter." It was his goal to finish this book as a final act of love for his darling wife. He was able to accomplish this before passing away peacefully on the afternoon of April 19th.
There will be a celebration of Bruce's life at the home of his daughter, Jennifer Taylor, at 45340 Little Lake St., Mendocino, at 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday May 2, 2015. Anyone who knew Bruce or was touched by him is welcome to attend.
Published in Fort Bragg Advocate-News on Apr. 30, 2015
- See more at: http://obituaries.advocate-news.com/obituaries/advocate-news/obituary.aspx?pid=174731565#sthash.Rm3Nwego.dpuf
Bruce was born to Albert Wilder and Mary Linley Taylor. A.W. was an American mining engineer who owned a gold mine and an import-export company in Seoul. Mary was an English actress, artist, and author.
The Korean Declaration of Independence was printed in the hospital basement the night of Bruce's birth. When police raided the hospital, a copy was hidden in the bed of Bruce's mother and her newborn son. Bruce's father, who had been appointed Special Correspondent with the Associated Press, discovered the declaration while visiting his wife and son in the hospital. A.W. Taylor sent his brother to Japan with the document in the hollowed-out heel of his shoe, to evade local censorship and cable the news to America. This act, along with A.W.'s photographic documentation and reporting of a Japanese massacre of Koreans who were celebrating, led the Governor to stop the carnage, saving thousands of lives.
When Bruce's father became ill a few years later, they sought a cure in California. There, Bruce attended private school for four years before continuing on to eight years of boarding school in England. He returned to Korea in 1937, to see his parents and to learn the family import-export and gold mining businesses. After three years at home in Korea, Bruce returned to College of Marin to study Mining Geology. Bruce then spent four years in the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theater of War and was stationed in Hawaii during the Pearl Harbor attack. After his parents' expulsion from Seoul by the Japanese during World War II, they settled in California.
A divided Korea ended the family business and Bruce pursued a teaching career. On the first day of July 1950, he married Joyce Phipps in Seaford, Sussex, England. They settled in Marin County, California and had two children, Peter and Jennifer. They subsequently lived in Sonoma County where Bruce taught elementary school for thirty years.
Bruce's mother, Mary Linley Taylor, a founding member of the Mendocino Art Center and the Mendocino Theater Company, moved to Mendocino in 1962 where she wrote "Chain of Amber," a book about her life's adventures. After Bruce's retirement from education in 1993, Bruce and Joyce moved into Mary's home in Mendocino.
In 2006, Bruce, Joyce, and daughter, Jennifer, went to Korea to participate in a TV documentary "Father's Country." In recognition of his family's role in an important part of Korean history, Bruce was given Honorary Citizenship of Seoul by Mayor Lee Myung Bak, who later became President South Korea.
Bruce was an avid swimmer and practitioner of The Five Tibetan Rights and enjoyed walking around the Headlands and streets of Mendocino, striking up conversations with locals and tourists alike. His interests included writing, the study of foreign languages and a life-long dedication to improvements in education. In this, he was the U.S. Representative for SEAL, The Society for Effective Affective Learning, an international education society based in London, with members in over 40 countries.
Bruce Taylor published an autobiography, "Dilkusha by the Ginkgo Tree," in 2010. An excerpt from the book reads, "I was a miner, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, teacher. These are my recollections of the end of two empires - the Japanese and the British - of growing up in Korea, America, and England; of visits to forty other lands, and of making myself understood in ten languages."
Bruce was an incredible man, a devoted husband and father, full of wonderful stories - fascinating and varied. He was curious about all subjects and was always studying something new. He was an inspiration to all who knew him and never lost his desire to live fully and be productive.
Bruce and Joyce Taylor enjoyed a loving marriage lasting sixty-two years, one month, and sixteen days. After Joyce's death in August of 2013, Bruce devoted his remaining days to writing a book about her entitled "Joyce Phipps, The British Consul General's Daughter." It was his goal to finish this book as a final act of love for his darling wife. He was able to accomplish this before passing away peacefully on the afternoon of April 19th.
There will be a celebration of Bruce's life at the home of his daughter, Jennifer Taylor, at 45340 Little Lake St., Mendocino, at 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday May 2, 2015. Anyone who knew Bruce or was touched by him is welcome to attend.
Published in Fort Bragg Advocate-News on Apr. 30, 2015
- See more at: http://obituaries.advocate-news.com/obituaries/advocate-news/obituary.aspx?pid=174731565#sthash.Rm3Nwego.dpuf
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