Calin (Mathewson) Taylor was born November 9, 1972, in Seattle, Washington, to Ross and Elizabeth Mathewson, and died on Orcas Island in her new home February 9, 2016. She was surrounded by friends and family. She is survived by her husband Ian Taylor, her mother, Liz Mathewson (Marshall Pancheau), and brother Deane Mathewson (wife Erika)
Calin spent her childhood in Maple Valley, WA, and attended Tahoma schools kindergarten through high school (graduation 1990). She loved playing piano, singing, swimming, tennis, and drama. Her family owned a small farm and Calin helped raise the chickens, rabbits, horses, pigs, sheep, cows and gardens. She, her brother Deane, her cousins and friends were allowed to get very dirty. If too dirty, they were hosed off before coming back into the house.
After she left Maple Valley, Calin went on to graduate from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, 1994. She completed a Masters Degree in Linguistics from Boston University, 1998. Calin learned to speak Swahili and lived several months in Kenya. She lived a year in Portugal where she learned to speak Portuguese. She married Ian Gordon Taylor in 2001 and for several years they lived in Seattle where Ian completed a doctoral degree in fisheries. Throughout her life, Calin enjoyed singing, horseback riding, travel and journaling.
Calin was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 26 years old and lived with the disease for 17 years. She continued to travel and accompanied Ian when he worked abroad. In all, she visited 39 countries and 6 continents. She once had a chemotherapy treatment in Spain. Calin and Ian’s favorite vacation destination was Cabo Verde, an island country off the west coast of Africa. What they loved about Cabo Verde was the mountainous hiking terrain, the mix of African and Portuguese cuisine, and the opportunities Calin enjoyed to speak Portuguese with the locals.
Calin refused to characterize her seventeen years of cancer treatments and surgeries as a battle. “I love my life and refuse to think of my life as a battle. I am living my life and cancer is a part of it.” Calin had been on hospice care since August and after thoughtful deliberation, availed herself of Washington’s Death With Dignity Act.
