James Taylor obituary: James Taylor's Obituary, Dove Topeka
In Memory Of
James Taylor
1925 - 2016
In Memory Of
James Taylor
1925 - 2016
Lt. Col. James S. Taylor, USAF (Ret.) went to be with his Lord July 7, 2016. He was born January 12, 1925 in Huntsville, Alabama, to Anna Simmons and Oscar Brooks Taylor. After his father left, his mother returned to Larned, Kansas, with her three young children. When Jim was nine, his mother married Lyle Ashworth and provided Jim and his two sisters with a kind and loving dad and a welcoming extended family.
He attended country schools in Seward and Plymell Kansas before leaving home on his teacher’s recommendation to attend Garden City High School. He and two other ninth-grade boys shared a basement room with a dirt floor and cleaned typewriters to earn their room and board.
The day after high school graduation in 1943, Jim and a friend enlisted in the army. He was selected for the pilot training program, and began college training at Washington University in St. Louis. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant /pilot in 1944 at the age of 19. After his discharge at Lincoln Air Force Base in 1945, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business at the University of Nebraska, which he attended on a football scholarship. His membership in Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Nebraska provided him with lifelong friendships.
While at NU, he met Marion Louise Eloe on a blind date. He impressed her father and local farmers by parachuting onto a pasture in her hometown of Ansley to see her. He and Marion were married in First Baptist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska on June 8, 1947, and Jim became a much-loved member of her family. Their two daughters, Christine Ann and Julie Louise, were born in Lincoln.
In 1951, he was recalled to active duty at Mitchel Field in New York, and began a varied and exciting career in the United States Air Force. After time in Korea, he became an ROTC instructor at Illinois Institute of Technology. Upon completion of an aircraft commander course, he transferred to Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka, where he spent the next 11 years as an RB-47 pilot with the Strategic Air Command. While doing reconnaissance work, he spent three of every ten months in England, Turkey, Japan or Alaska. He was awarded a number of medals during these missions, including the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters and the Air Medal. His last military flight was from SAC Headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha, in 1968. After retirement from the military, he remained in Topeka and worked as a purchasing agent for Volume Shoe.
In Topeka, Jim was an active member of Crestview United Methodist Church, which he served in several capacities, including Sunday school teacher. He was a long-time member of the Y, where he played handball twice a week for more than 30 years. He was a skilled hunter of pheasant and quail, and took groups of friends from all over the country to his special hunting spots in Nebraska and Kansas. He and Marion were also excellent bridge players, and played in a duplicate bridge club for 40-plus years. Jim and Marion enjoyed watching sports of all kinds, especially at the high school and college level, both live and on television. He supported Kansas State University, where his daughters went to school, but his heart was always with his beloved Huskers. Go Big Red!
After his retirement, he enjoyed spending quality time with his grandchildren and the rest of his family. He took pride in the quantity and variety of vegetables he grew in his garden, and in the flowers he grew for Marion. And he took time to stay in touch with the friends he made in every area of his life, from college and military to church and the early morning coffee gatherings at various donut shops.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, his step-father and a sister. He leaves to mourn his passing his wife, Marion; daughters Chris Belden (Brian) and Julie Taylor; grandchildren, Christopher and Ben Perdue and Elizabeth and Brad Belden, and a sister, Rozada Daniels.
The family would like to thank Dr. Ed Wood, his physician and friend; Brad Warren, home caregivers Lori Martin and Monika Tipton, and the wonderful staff at Brookdale Topeka for their care and compassion.
A memorial service will be 11 a.m. Saturday, July 16, at Crestview United Methodist Church, 2245 SW Eveningside Drive, Topeka, KS 66614, with visitation at the church from 9-10:45 a.m. There will be a light lunch following the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Air Force JROTC, att. Lt. Col. (Ret.) Deeb, Highland Park High School, 2424 SE California Ave. Topeka, KS 66605, for a student scholarship; Crestview United Methodist Church; or Helping Hands Humane Society, Inc., 5720 SW 21st St., Topeka, KS 66604
He attended country schools in Seward and Plymell Kansas before leaving home on his teacher’s recommendation to attend Garden City High School. He and two other ninth-grade boys shared a basement room with a dirt floor and cleaned typewriters to earn their room and board.
The day after high school graduation in 1943, Jim and a friend enlisted in the army. He was selected for the pilot training program, and began college training at Washington University in St. Louis. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant /pilot in 1944 at the age of 19. After his discharge at Lincoln Air Force Base in 1945, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business at the University of Nebraska, which he attended on a football scholarship. His membership in Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Nebraska provided him with lifelong friendships.
While at NU, he met Marion Louise Eloe on a blind date. He impressed her father and local farmers by parachuting onto a pasture in her hometown of Ansley to see her. He and Marion were married in First Baptist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska on June 8, 1947, and Jim became a much-loved member of her family. Their two daughters, Christine Ann and Julie Louise, were born in Lincoln.
In 1951, he was recalled to active duty at Mitchel Field in New York, and began a varied and exciting career in the United States Air Force. After time in Korea, he became an ROTC instructor at Illinois Institute of Technology. Upon completion of an aircraft commander course, he transferred to Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka, where he spent the next 11 years as an RB-47 pilot with the Strategic Air Command. While doing reconnaissance work, he spent three of every ten months in England, Turkey, Japan or Alaska. He was awarded a number of medals during these missions, including the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters and the Air Medal. His last military flight was from SAC Headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha, in 1968. After retirement from the military, he remained in Topeka and worked as a purchasing agent for Volume Shoe.
In Topeka, Jim was an active member of Crestview United Methodist Church, which he served in several capacities, including Sunday school teacher. He was a long-time member of the Y, where he played handball twice a week for more than 30 years. He was a skilled hunter of pheasant and quail, and took groups of friends from all over the country to his special hunting spots in Nebraska and Kansas. He and Marion were also excellent bridge players, and played in a duplicate bridge club for 40-plus years. Jim and Marion enjoyed watching sports of all kinds, especially at the high school and college level, both live and on television. He supported Kansas State University, where his daughters went to school, but his heart was always with his beloved Huskers. Go Big Red!
After his retirement, he enjoyed spending quality time with his grandchildren and the rest of his family. He took pride in the quantity and variety of vegetables he grew in his garden, and in the flowers he grew for Marion. And he took time to stay in touch with the friends he made in every area of his life, from college and military to church and the early morning coffee gatherings at various donut shops.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, his step-father and a sister. He leaves to mourn his passing his wife, Marion; daughters Chris Belden (Brian) and Julie Taylor; grandchildren, Christopher and Ben Perdue and Elizabeth and Brad Belden, and a sister, Rozada Daniels.
The family would like to thank Dr. Ed Wood, his physician and friend; Brad Warren, home caregivers Lori Martin and Monika Tipton, and the wonderful staff at Brookdale Topeka for their care and compassion.
A memorial service will be 11 a.m. Saturday, July 16, at Crestview United Methodist Church, 2245 SW Eveningside Drive, Topeka, KS 66614, with visitation at the church from 9-10:45 a.m. There will be a light lunch following the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Air Force JROTC, att. Lt. Col. (Ret.) Deeb, Highland Park High School, 2424 SE California Ave. Topeka, KS 66605, for a student scholarship; Crestview United Methodist Church; or Helping Hands Humane Society, Inc., 5720 SW 21st St., Topeka, KS 66604
Lt. Col. James S. Taylor, USAF (Ret.) went to be with his Lord July 7, 2016. He was born January 12, 1925 in Huntsville, Alabama, to Anna Simmons and Oscar Brooks Taylor. After his father left, his mother returned to Larned, Kansas, with her three young children. When Jim was nine, his mother married Lyle Ashworth and provided Jim and his two sisters with a kind and loving dad and a welcoming extended family.
He attended country schools in Seward and Plymell Kansas before leaving home on his teacher’s recommendation to attend Garden City High School. He and two other ninth-grade boys shared a basement room with a dirt floor and cleaned typewriters to earn their room and board.
The day after high school graduation in 1943, Jim and a friend enlisted in the army. He was selected for the pilot training program, and began college training at Washington University in St. Louis. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant /pilot in 1944 at the age of 19. After his discharge at Lincoln Air Force Base in 1945, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business at the University of Nebraska, which he attended on a football scholarship. His membership in Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Nebraska provided him with lifelong friendships.
While at NU, he met Marion Louise Eloe on a blind date. He impressed her father and local farmers by parachuting onto a pasture in her hometown of Ansley to see her. He and Marion were married in First Baptist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska on June 8, 1947, and Jim became a much-loved member of her family. Their two daughters, Christine Ann and Julie Louise, were born in Lincoln.
In 1951, he was recalled to active duty at Mitchel Field in New York, and began a varied and exciting career in the United States Air Force. After time in Korea, he became an ROTC instructor at Illinois Institute of Technology. Upon completion of an aircraft commander course, he transferred to Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka, where he spent the next 11 years as an RB-47 pilot with the Strategic Air Command. While doing reconnaissance work, he spent three of every ten months in England, Turkey, Japan or Alaska. He was awarded a number of medals during these missions, including the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters and the Air Medal. His last military flight was from SAC Headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha, in 1968. After retirement from the military, he remained in Topeka and worked as a purchasing agent for Volume Shoe.
In Topeka, Jim was an active member of Crestview United Methodist Church, which he served in several capacities, including Sunday school teacher. He was a long-time member of the Y, where he played handball twice a week for more than 30 years. He was a skilled hunter of pheasant and quail, and took groups of friends from all over the country to his special hunting spots in Nebraska and Kansas. He and Marion were also excellent bridge players, and played in a duplicate bridge club for 40-plus years. Jim and Marion enjoyed watching sports of all kinds, especially at the high school and college level, both live and on television. He supported Kansas State University, where his daughters went to school, but his heart was always with his beloved Huskers. Go Big Red!
After his retirement, he enjoyed spending quality time with his grandchildren and the rest of his family. He took pride in the quantity and variety of vegetables he grew in his garden, and in the flowers he grew for Marion. And he took time to stay in touch with the friends he made in every area of his life, from college and military to church and the early morning coffee gatherings at various donut shops.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, his step-father and a sister. He leaves to mourn his passing his wife, Marion; daughters Chris Belden (Brian) and Julie Taylor; grandchildren, Christopher and Ben Perdue and Elizabeth and Brad Belden, and a sister, Rozada Daniels.
The family would like to thank Dr. Ed Wood, his physician and friend; Brad Warren, home caregivers Lori Martin and Monika Tipton, and the wonderful staff at Brookdale Topeka for their care and compassion.
A memorial service will be 11 a.m. Saturday, July 16, at Crestview United Methodist Church, 2245 SW Eveningside Drive, Topeka, KS 66614, with visitation at the church from 9-10:45 a.m. There will be a light lunch following the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Air Force JROTC, att. Lt. Col. (Ret.) Deeb, Highland Park High School, 2424 SE California Ave. Topeka, KS 66605, for a student scholarship; Crestview United Methodist Church; or Helping Hands Humane Society, Inc., 5720 SW 21st St., Topeka, KS 66604
He attended country schools in Seward and Plymell Kansas before leaving home on his teacher’s recommendation to attend Garden City High School. He and two other ninth-grade boys shared a basement room with a dirt floor and cleaned typewriters to earn their room and board.
The day after high school graduation in 1943, Jim and a friend enlisted in the army. He was selected for the pilot training program, and began college training at Washington University in St. Louis. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant /pilot in 1944 at the age of 19. After his discharge at Lincoln Air Force Base in 1945, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business at the University of Nebraska, which he attended on a football scholarship. His membership in Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Nebraska provided him with lifelong friendships.
While at NU, he met Marion Louise Eloe on a blind date. He impressed her father and local farmers by parachuting onto a pasture in her hometown of Ansley to see her. He and Marion were married in First Baptist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska on June 8, 1947, and Jim became a much-loved member of her family. Their two daughters, Christine Ann and Julie Louise, were born in Lincoln.
In 1951, he was recalled to active duty at Mitchel Field in New York, and began a varied and exciting career in the United States Air Force. After time in Korea, he became an ROTC instructor at Illinois Institute of Technology. Upon completion of an aircraft commander course, he transferred to Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka, where he spent the next 11 years as an RB-47 pilot with the Strategic Air Command. While doing reconnaissance work, he spent three of every ten months in England, Turkey, Japan or Alaska. He was awarded a number of medals during these missions, including the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters and the Air Medal. His last military flight was from SAC Headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha, in 1968. After retirement from the military, he remained in Topeka and worked as a purchasing agent for Volume Shoe.
In Topeka, Jim was an active member of Crestview United Methodist Church, which he served in several capacities, including Sunday school teacher. He was a long-time member of the Y, where he played handball twice a week for more than 30 years. He was a skilled hunter of pheasant and quail, and took groups of friends from all over the country to his special hunting spots in Nebraska and Kansas. He and Marion were also excellent bridge players, and played in a duplicate bridge club for 40-plus years. Jim and Marion enjoyed watching sports of all kinds, especially at the high school and college level, both live and on television. He supported Kansas State University, where his daughters went to school, but his heart was always with his beloved Huskers. Go Big Red!
After his retirement, he enjoyed spending quality time with his grandchildren and the rest of his family. He took pride in the quantity and variety of vegetables he grew in his garden, and in the flowers he grew for Marion. And he took time to stay in touch with the friends he made in every area of his life, from college and military to church and the early morning coffee gatherings at various donut shops.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, his step-father and a sister. He leaves to mourn his passing his wife, Marion; daughters Chris Belden (Brian) and Julie Taylor; grandchildren, Christopher and Ben Perdue and Elizabeth and Brad Belden, and a sister, Rozada Daniels.
The family would like to thank Dr. Ed Wood, his physician and friend; Brad Warren, home caregivers Lori Martin and Monika Tipton, and the wonderful staff at Brookdale Topeka for their care and compassion.
A memorial service will be 11 a.m. Saturday, July 16, at Crestview United Methodist Church, 2245 SW Eveningside Drive, Topeka, KS 66614, with visitation at the church from 9-10:45 a.m. There will be a light lunch following the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Air Force JROTC, att. Lt. Col. (Ret.) Deeb, Highland Park High School, 2424 SE California Ave. Topeka, KS 66605, for a student scholarship; Crestview United Methodist Church; or Helping Hands Humane Society, Inc., 5720 SW 21st St., Topeka, KS 66604
Services & Gatherings
Visitation
Saturday, July 16, 2016 from 9:00 AM to 10:45 AM
Crestview United Methodist Church 2245 SW Eveningside Drive Topeka, KS
Service
Saturday, July 16, 2016 at 11:00 AM
Crestview United Methodist Church 2245 SW Eveningside Drive Topeka, KS
Southeast Chapel (785-272-8844) is assisting the family
Southeast Chapel (785-272-8844) is assisting the family