James (Jim) Peter Taylor passed from this life peacefully on April 12, 2022 surrounded by family. Born in Providence, RI March 22, 1935 to Thelma Sharples and raised by his Aunt Elizabeth (Lizzy) and Uncle Jim until his teens when he joined his mother and was adopted by her husband Gordon Taylor who he talked about fondly.
James spent his early years sailing, fishing, and hunting in Narragansett Bay, RI and the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. After graduating White Plains High School in 1953, he enlisted in the Air Force and was stationed in Laredo, TX where his love of Texas and lifelong friendships grew. Upon discharge in 1958 he moved back to White Plains, NY where he served in the police department. When given the opportunity to study jet aircraft mechanics at Spartan College of Aeronautics in Tulsa, OK, he took it moving himself there in 1960.
It was Tulsa where he met his wife of 40 years, Norma Sue Littlefield. After graduating in 1964, he accepted a job with Texas International Airlines in Houston, TX. He and Norma built a home in Spring, Tx and moved his family there in 1974. When he wasn’t doing what he loved at work he enjoyed gardening, tending to his African violets, hunting, fishing, coaching his girls who played softball, tinkering with cars and motorcycles with his son, wood working, and fixing anything that broke.
Jim is survived by his five children Cynthia, James Jr., Laura and her spouse David Marshall, Michael and his spouse John Batiste, Kara and her life partner Stephen Crouch, his grandsons James Slavych and wife Jessica, Austyn Slavych and wife Torrie and great grandchildren Eden and Phoenix. He is preceded in death by his parents and wife Norma.
Memorial service will be held on Saturday May 14th, 3pm at Trinity Episcopal Church 3901 S Panther Creek Dr
The Woodlands, TX 77381
A Reception and slide show will follow service.
The Taylor family would like to thank all of the friends and relatives who have expressed their condolences to the family. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight @ http://oklahomawarriors.org or your preferred veterans group.
To watch the Facebook Live stream of the funeral, click on this link>
http://facebook.com/trinityepiscopalchurch
___________________________________________________________________________________
Eulogy
Thank y’all for joining us today in person or virtually to celebrate the storied life of Jim Taylor. And I especially want to thank you all for the comfort & support you’ve shown our family during this time of profound grief. Dad really wishes he could be here today to witness this show of love in his honor,… but he is watching the live stream from the web, so be sure to speak up so he can hear you.
I struggled with how to sum up Dad’s life. He is a complex man to describe in words. Most of you knew him, so you know what I’m talking about. He lived a colorful life and had stories to tell for days. As best we can tell, most all of his stories were true. Born in the midst of the Great Depression to an unmarried teenage mother and raised by his middle-aged great Aunt & Uncle till he was 16 when he rejoined his Mom and stepfather. Fast-forward,… Two wives. 5 kids. Several jobs. Many talents. And just a few faults.
Dad was hyper observant and had a PhD in common sense. Growing up we’d watch TV as a family. 5 minutes into Columbo and he’d blurt out who done it and how,… and he was right. Between him & Mom, us kids couldn’t get away with anything. They knew what we were going to do before we did it and what we thought we had gotten away with, they knew. They just allowed it.
Dad could fix anything. We had this ancient jalopy of a law mower when I became old enough to push it. Imagine something out of the 60’s in faded turquoise. Rust holes. No safety features. Hard to start. Loud! And scary. He taught me how to work on engines keeping that thing running right up till the day the wheels literally fell off. If you knew Dad, you know he wouldn’t throw anything away until it broke for good. Until the wheels fell off. But first, he had me remove all the salvageable parts,… because you never know when you might need that size bolt, or nut, or whatever part looked reusable. “Might come in Handy,” he’d say. But he was right! Some parts did come in handy. And surely if you threw it away, you’d need it the next day. And he was right about that too. So we had jars & jars of every kind of nut & bolt and screw and washer,…SAE & metric… stacked in organized shelves available to fix whatever broke without a trip to the hardware store. That was normal at the Taylor house,…. I’ve since learned how rare he was.
Dad was not exactly a humble man, but he didn’t put on aires and he certainly didn’t care what anyone else thought of how he did things. It brought him great pride and worth to fix something that wasn’t fixable. Dad was our mechanic, plumber, carpenter, electrician, and overall handy man. It allowed him & Mom to save money and afford some nicer things. On an airplane mechanic’s wages. We always ate good and Mom drove Cadillacs and Lincolns…
Dad, however, drove a ’67 Ford pickup (Stick shift. 6 cylinder.) 82 miles round trip to Hobby airport 5 days a week for 15 years & 250k miles before he decided the engine needed an overhaul. So he upgraded to a ’68 Mercury Park Lane he bought from the neighbor for $800. He drove that a few years till he upgraded to Mom’s old 77 Coupe Deville. He had earned it. Not many of us here would endure that commute… I45 through downtown Houston for 26 years, in old, used vehicles. Sometimes without air conditioning. But he did. Because that was his job and that was how he showed his love and commitment to our family.
Toward the end, Dad confided in me that he didn’t think we was getting off this planet alive. And he was right. He left behind many unfinished projects, a few unspoken apologies, and some regrets. But just like Frank Sinatra, he did it His way.
I know Jim left a big mark on many lives. You may have your own Jim Taylor story to tell. He may have done or said something that pissed you off. He may have come to your rescue,… fixed your car. If so, I encourage you to leave a favorite memory of Dad on the Dignity memorial web site. He’ll eventually get around to reading them once he remembers his iPad password.
God Bless you Dad
DONACIONES
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
v.1.9.5