In memoriam: Roberta Taylor

Roberta Taylor, senior instructor in the School of Social Work, passed away on June 25. “Robbie,” as her friends called her, was diagnosed in late March with an aggressive non-treatable form of cancer. In true “Robbie” fashion, she and her children organized a celebration of life, which wove together a rich tapestry of people involved in the many facets of her life and where stories, music and readings were shared with Robbie and her family present. Taylor’s academic family has been the School of Social Work since the 1980s when she earned her BSW and then MSW at the school. She started teaching full-time in the school in 1993 and received the Faculty Teaching Excellence award in 2000.

Before becoming an academic, Roberta was a commercial pilot and flight instructor for 17 years, flying in northern Ontario and BC, where she developed relationships with Indigenous peoples who served as clients and co-workers. After a serious car accident ended her successful aviation career, she focused her energy on education, the environment and equity issues. In recognition of her early flight path, Roberta received the 2011 Elsie MacGill Northern Lights Award, named to recognize a Canadian woman’s contribution to the aviation or aerospace industry and to society as a whole.

To say that we miss her does not capture the loss we all feel, but her kind determination, commitment to justice in all areas of her life and her strong character has made its mark on our school and will always be with us.

Before she died, Roberta and her family worked with the school to set up a scholarship in her name with preference given to a mature student. Her students are a great legacy of her work and commitment to social justice, as is the scholarship, which will benefit students in the School of Social Work in perpetuity. Anyone wanting more information or to make a donation to the Roberta Taylor Scholarship should contact Lynne Milnes at 250-472-5031 or lmilnes@uvic.ca.