After years of health struggles, Robert Alvin Taylor died on June 3, 2024 at Seashore Point in Provincetown. He was 67.
The son of George and Gladys Taylor, Bobby was born on April 21, 1957 in Brookline. He grew up in Brockton, was a Boy Scout, played basketball for the Messiah Baptist Church at the Old Colony Y, delivered the local newspaper, and fished at Mills Pond in the summer.
“Bobby was a wonderful brother and a great friend to everyone,” his sister Michelle McKoy wrote.
“He was a star,” said his cousin Debbie Pennick. “Everyone wanted to be his friend.”
Bobby graduated in 1975 from Brockton High School, where, Michelle wrote, “he would plan get-togethers after school for the entire school when he wasn’t working for Caldor’s.”
He worked for many years as a chauffeur for Jay Cashman, the owner of a construction and development company in Boston. “You can’t fake caring,” Cashman wrote on the company website. “People see it.”
“He was not only a driver,” said Debbie, “he was the right-hand man for the whole family.”
Bobby visited Provincetown whenever he could. “He loved lighthouses,” Debbie said.
In 2006, he moved into Provincetown’s Foley House, an assisted living facility for otherwise homeless people living with AIDS. He received help from the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod as well.
There were many challenges, but “he had the spirit to respond to them,” said his friend Bruce Mason. A parishioner at St. Mary of the Harbor, Bobby loved the healing ceremony held at the back of the church.
“He knew the oil would not heal him,” Bruce said, “but he took it as a mark of love. There was a lot of sunshine in that guy. He was full of life.”
Bobby used to sit in the sun on a bench on Alden Street; at other times, he would park himself in front of town hall. “Everyone knew him downtown,” Bruce said. “He was sociable and a sun worshipper who loved to eat.”
Debbie recalled that Bobby could eat more than anyone, and he loved the Lobster Pot and Fannizzi’s. In his last months, as eating became more of a challenge, Bruce made him rice and beans, a favorite dish.
Bobby is survived by his father, George Taylor, of Florida; his sisters, Michelle McKoy and Yolanda Braham, also of Florida; his cousin Debbie Pennick of Roxbury; his goddaughter Aimee Mayers of Weymouth; and nieces, nephews, other cousins, and countless friends.
He was predeceased by his mother, Gladys Taylor, and his grandparents, the Rev. Charles Green and Gladys E. Green.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, July 22 at St. Mary of the Harbor, 517 Commercial St., Provincetown. The service will be livestreamed, and lunch will follow.
Bobby’s family thanks Bill Furdin and the staff of the AIDS Support Group, Foley House staff, and the staff at Seashore Point for their care and support.
