‘A family man’: Friends remember Burnaby resident and rugby player killed in Hwy 99 landslide

On the rugby field, 47-year-old Steve Taylor was formidable, aggressive, and a force to be reckoned with. But off the field, he was a different man—one with a softer side and an infectious smile.

“Steve was a very charismatic individual, the kind of guy you meet for five minutes and never forget for the rest of your life,” remembered Dean Hopkins, his friend of 12 years.

“He was someone who embraced everything about life itself. He was always helpful to other people, would go out of his way to do things to ease people’s problems in a crisis.”

Taylor, a recent newcomer to Burnaby, was one of five people killed in the Nov 15 landslide on Hwy 99 near Lillooet.

He and his wife had moved here from Calgary to start a new life after COVID shuttered most operations at the construction company he worked at, Hopkins told the Beacon. When he was killed, he was on his way back home from a job site up north.

Hopkins, who describes Taylor as “a little brother”, said he received a distraught phone call from Taylor’s wife Monday evening—the day after the deadly slide—saying he hadn’t come home and she couldn’t get in touch with him.

Hopkins spent much of the next day calling RCMP, Taylor’s employer, hotels nearby the highway, and anyone else he could think of. Sadly, RCMP told Taylor’s wife on Wednesday that they had recovered his remains.

Hopkins has jumped into action to support her, raising nearly $35,000 in a Facebook fundraiser so far.

He’s also flying out to Burnaby today to make sure Taylor’s wife has someone to help with funeral arrangements, and he’s planning a celebration of life back home in Calgary next week.

Hopkins said it’s been especially difficult for Taylor’s wife, having just moved to Burnaby recently and not having a large community here yet.

But an outpouring of support—particularly from “hundreds, if not thousands” of people who knew Taylor from the rugby community—has helped a lot.

Fitting, because Taylor devoted much of his life to playing his favourite sport.

“Rugby was his passion and his life, his social environment. His day job was a distraction from his rugby. And we’ve played together on the same team for many years. So yeah, rugby was a huge part of his life,” Hopkins said.

“He was a family man as well, if he wasn’t on the rugby field or focusing on that. He was a hard working class man, just trying to put food on the table for his family. He’s a father of four [and a grandfather of one]… We could be here for hours talking about the man himself.”