Annual toy drive honoring Ashton Taylor ongoing

Ashton Taylor was known for his joy. The smiling blond toddler was only 3 when he died of brain cancer in 2023, but he continues to be remembered throughout Lorain County for his fiercely loving Ashton's Army. The "army" of strangers and friends banded together to organize Jeep parades to entertain him, and bring support to his family since he was diagnosed at 1. He loved his "jeep jeeps," music and Santa Claus. Even while he was sick, he liked to make others happy, said his mother, Tara Taylor. "He always made people smile," she said. ""He always made me smile. A couple of days before he closed his eyes and went into this deep sleep right before he passed, Joe (Ashton's father) and I were trying to move him on the couch. He was so swollen by then and he was in pain. My dad and him, they would do this thing where they would pat their bellies and laugh. And he looked up at me and said 'Momma" and patted his belly and tried to smile. "Here this little boy is literally dying and he is trying to make me and my husband laugh," she remembers. "He was the sweetest baby. I am so thankful for him, for the time we had." It is in that spirit that his family started an annual toy drive in his name. This year marks the third annual toy collection for the Ashton's Army Toy Drive, and they are asking for the community's help. They collect new toys for kids of all ages to make sure children with cancer and their families have something to look forward to as they battle their illness. Taylor said the drive stocks up the outpatient Cleveland Clinic Children's Center, where Ashton spent so much of his time. Ashton loved visiting the Icee machine and the toy chest, where patients could pick out whatever they liked. "How happy it made Ashton, even for that little half a second, to go to the toy chest," his mom said. "We want to do that for others. It helps them just to enjoy the moment, and pick out whatever they want. They have enough on their minds." Last year, the toy drive collected more than 300 toys to share. "This year not as much have come in, but I get it, everybody's struggling," she said. "But anything we get, we're still extremely happy. It's like what we tell our kids: 'Every day you wake up and you be grateful.'" This year the Taylor family, including Ashton's older siblings, Keilee, 17, Austin, 13, and Kendall, 10, also are mourning Bob Jordan, Taylor's dad and Ashton's "Papa." Jordan died in January, shortly after telling Taylor "I'm going to see him. I'm going to see my boy." Toys will be collected through Dec. 1. To arrange pick up, drop off or for information, contact Katelyn at (440) 452-0668 or Taylor at (440) 506-8818. To donate to the toy drive, Venmo @Ashtonsarmy24. Contact Rini Jeffers at rinijeffers@gmail.com.