James Thomas Taylor

Jim, as he was known to most, was born in Greensboro, NC on July 12, 1937 to Jimmie Lou Nelms Taylor and Harvey Wilbur Taylor. He entered into his eternal home following a brief illness on April 8, 2025, where he was reunited with his parents, two brothers and a sister. Jim was a humble, quiet, Southern gentleman with a great sense of humor who possessed a love of music and who enjoyed working on his Christmas tree farm.

Jim graduated from Bessemer High School in Greensboro in 1955 and went to work in a local mill. While working, he took drafting classes at Guilford Technical Institute (now known as GTCC) where he obtained his diploma in Mechanical Drafting. Jim transitioned to a drafting job with Southern Elevator and was a team member that designed the coal elevator for Marshall Steam Plant (still in use) located on Lake Norman in Terrell, NC. Jim later went to work for Gilbarco designing fuel pumps that were used in gas stations before these became computerized in the 1990’s.

Jim loved music and told many folks he was the ‘original’ James Taylor. As a young man, his father bought a guitar from a pawn shop in Greensboro and arranged for Jim to take lessons. He enjoyed many years of playing his acoustic guitar and taught himself how to play an electric guitar. He never considered himself a fan but admired the music of Chet Atkins. Jim was able to attend a Chet Atkins concert at the Greensboro Coliseum in the early 1980’s.

Real Estate was another interest that Jim had. He obtained his NC Real Estate Brokers license in 1968. After moving to South Carolina, Jim worked for the Florence Housing Authority and was instrumental in acquiring the property necessary to build the McLeod Medical Center in Florence, SC. Upon returning to NC, Jim sold real estate for a local realtor in Greensboro for a few years before joining the City of Greensboro as a Real Estate Agent. It wasn’t long before Jim was promoted to Director of Property Management for the City of Greensboro where he served 15 years until his retirement in 2000. During his tenure with the City of Greensboro, Jim joined the International Right of Way Association and moved up thru the ranks to become President.

Jim leaves behind a daughter, Michelle Coddington and her husband Mike, a step-daughter, Cindy Schwenk and her husband Ron, a grandson, Michael Coddington and his wife Emily, and two step-grandchildren, Amy Tucker (Steve) and Ben Hill (April) and their children, a wife of 62 years, and his second family - the staff and residents of Genesis Nursing Home in Siler City, NC.