He was the first private land developer in the Yukon, but ask most anyone who knew Brad Taylor and it's his big laugh and kindness they remember.

"He just had a heart as big as the Yukon," Roy Slade said this week, recalling his friend as someone you could always "take your troubles to."

Taylor died on March 12 at the age of 62 from a heart attack.

Slade is part of an extensive list of friends in the territory Taylor has had for upwards of 30 years.

Taylor grew up in Swift Current, Sask., but spent most of his life in the Yukon.

When Slade first met him, Taylor had yet to move into the private development world. He was spending his days working for the federal Department of Public Works.

More than a few evenings at the time were spent with co-workers playing slo-pitch ball for a team called the Feds, which would later become the KK team.

"He was a real good (ball) player," recalled Wally Hidinger, who got to know Taylor through both work and ball.

It didn't seem to matter what play was made, Taylor would make a point of sliding into bases throughout each game, said Eamonn Campbell.

As Taylor told him, you weren't really playing ball if you didn't get dirty.

Though Kelly White never played on the same team as Taylor, their friendship was one of those that began from the time spent hanging out at the ball diamonds after the games.

"He was an amazing, an amazing friend," she said.

Never hard to find at a gathering, if you walked into a room and didn't see Taylor it wasn't long before you heard his booming voice and laugh.

"It's a laugh nobody could impersonate," White said.

Even just passing him on the road, friends recall the huge smile and wave from Taylor, who never had a bad thing to say about anybody.

"He was bigger than life," Campbell said, arguing Taylor could easily be part of the newer Colourful Five Per Cent.

While Taylor got along with just about anyone, he also wasn't one to back down from saying what he thought.

As White pointed out, he had a strong determination, and if he thought something could be done, he'd make sure it was.

That was the case even when it came to getting in touch with someone.

"There was no escaping Brad," White said as she remembered his unique way of finding friends if he couldn't reach them by phone.

At times, White would be driving down the road, wondering at first who was tailing her only to spot Taylor signaling for her to pull over.

He left an impression that nothing can wipe away, she said.

"He'll be much missed," Slade said.

Taylor also leaves a legacy in the territory through his development work.

While the Pineridge subdivision in south Whitehorse was the first privately developed subdivision in the Yukon, it has also served as a benchmark for future private developments, Slade said.

It was in the late 1980s that Taylor left his government job to work in the private sector. He would go on to work with Yukon Engineering Services in 1991 on a road project north of Watson Lake.

His work would take him to New Brunswick at one point, but he eventually returned to the territory, Hidinger said.

Among his most recent projects, Taylor has been working to develop the former tank farm area that borders Hamilton Boulevard.

His four children - David, Amber, Leah and Brittany - are asking friends to wear Taylor's favourite colour - blue - at a celebration of Taylor's life set for 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Westmark Whitehorse Hotel.