The husband of Lillooet’s outgoing chief administrative officer (CAO) died “unexpectedly due to a sudden illness” on Sunday, according to a notice on the district website.
Kevin Taylor, the director of corporate and development services, succumbed after an unspecified illness at Lillooet Hospital. His husband, Jeremy Denegar, was hired last month by District of Sooke to become its new CAO after Labour Day.
“Kevin has been an inspiration to our team, he was loyal to Lillooet in wanting perfection to reign, seeking the highest standards in governance and his vision for our Main St. was stunning,” said the Aug. 7 statement from Mayor Laurie Hopfl, council and staff. “He was honest, smart and professional in his work. He was quick witted, fun and kind in his life. He will be greatly missed.”
The statement asked for privacy for Denegar and Taylor’s family. “Please give time to begin the healing of our loss. We will do the best we can for our community as always.”
Denegar and Taylor were both hired in November 2019 at Lillooet, where council adopted a new policy on supervising spouses that shifted certain responsibilities from the CAO to the mayor in an effort to avoid a conflict of interest.
Taylor was originally from North Vancouver and held a political science degree from the University of Victoria. He worked in the District of Peachland planning department beginning in 2014 and later joined the development services departments in Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen and District of Summerland.
Denegar was Esquimalt’s information technology manager from 2007 to 2013 and director of corporate services for Summerland from 2013 to 2019. Sooke council voted to hire Denegar for the vacant CAO position in July after a recommendation from consultant Paul Murray.
