Charles Emery Taylor, Ph.D., age 87, died on Sunday, October 25, 2020, at Deaconess Hospice. He was born on December 3, 1932, near Marengo in Crawford County, Indiana. His parents were Omer Russell Taylor and Roma Edna (McNaughton) Taylor.
Chuck married Vivian Morlock in 1968, and they were blessed with fifty-two years of marriage. Chuck is survived by his wife; their son, Scott (Maria); step-grandson, Kelan Canada; and granddaughters, Anitra, Aleria, Alita, Jade, and Orion. Chuck is also survived by siblings, Lee Taylor (Marquita), Roma Mills (Michael), Samuel Taylor, and James Taylor (Vivian). Chuck was preceded in death by his parents and his oldest brother, William Taylor, and his wife Kathryn.
Chuck was graduated from Milltown High School in 1950. Then he was in charge of the family farm for three years and also worked at the U.S. Post Office in Marengo for a year. He served in the U.S. Army from August 31, 1953, to June 9, 1955.
He earned his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Purdue University in 1959 and his Master of Agriculture from Purdue in 1960. He taught Vocational Agriculture at Lewisville High School and then Vocational Agriculture, Chemistry, and Biology at English High School, where he was also the advisor for the Future Farmers of America and the 4-H Clubs.
Chuck was instructor of Biology at the University of Dubuque in Iowa from 1962-63 through 1965-66. Then he was Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Evansville from 1966-67 through 1968-69. During this time he also received three National Science Foundation grants and one North Dakota State University grant for summer research. He earned his Ph.D. in Ecology and Conservation from Purdue in 1972. During his Ph.D. study, he was also a Research Assistant for Purdue’s Department of Forestry and Conservation.
After working as Assistant Manager at Tri-State Veterinary Supply, he became a Reclamation Specialist for the Office of Surface Mining, U.S. Department of the Interior, in January 1979. He retired from OSM in January of 1998.
Chuck was treasurer of the midwest section of the Society for Range Management for several years. He was also treasurer of the South Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association, and he received a Sparkplug Award from the United Neighborhoods of Evansville in 2015. He was a member of the Southwestern Indiana Historical Society and a member of Methodist Temple, UMC, where he was an usher for many years and had served on several committees.
He was a Boy Scout leader in various positions for a total of twenty-three years, mostly with Cub Scout Pack 301 and Boy Scout Troop 301 at Methodist Temple. His son and grandson both earned Eagle rank in Troop 301. Chuck received the United Methodist Church’s Cross and Flame Award for Service to Youth in 1993. He was honored in February 2020 with the Buffalo Trace Council’s Silver Beaver Award for distinguished service to Scouting. He also served as leader with his granddaughters’ Girl Scout Troop 32 at Methodist Temple for nine years.
Chuck’s funeral service will be held at Methodist Temple, 2109 Lincoln Avenue, on Thursday, October 29, 2020. Visitation will be from noon until 1:00 P.M., and the service will be at 1:00. (Masks are required for attendees.) The service will be live-streamed using the following link, https://youtu.be/PCkkfHzTUnk.
Memorial donations may be made to Methodist Temple.
Condolences may be offered at www.AlexanderEastChapel.com.
