Louis F. Taylor

He was born August 4, 1922 in Pontiac, Michigan to Clyde and Fannie Taylor. After serving in the Navy from 1942 to 1946 he attended the Modern School of Photography in New York and the American Academy of Art in Chicago. On August 2, 1950 he married his wife Elsye in Chicago. They made their home in Cary for 53 years before moving to Barrington in 2009.

After forming his own commercial art studio, Lou spent years traveling as an artist, photographer and reporter documenting such monumental projects as the construction of dams, the deep, underground digging and pouring of the massive caisson foundations for skyscrapers, and of the building of the Alaskan pipeline.

For almost 60 years, the “LFT Studio” produced commercial photography, illustration and fine art paintings. Lou’s work now hangs in many corporate and private collections including: United Airlines, Dunn & Bradstreet, Case International, Utley Company, Century 21, ASC Boise, Caisson Corporation, Haeger Potteries, Skill Corporation and numerous banks and savings institutions.

Lou was a proud member of the U.S. Air Force Art Program for 12 years, accompanying military aircraft all over the world and documenting, through his paintings, both the people and equipment used in defense of the United States and its allies.

As a longtime resident of Cary he played a large role in the community: teaching art workshops at the schools and park districts, providing artwork and promotional expertise to local businesses, and taking great interest in recording, through photography and art, the rapidly disappearing rural landscape of McHenry County.

Throughout his lifetime, Lou Taylor’s work has been exhibited and honored by the Chicago Artist Guild, the Hancock Tower, the Union League Club of Chicago, the Burpee Museum in Rockford, the Kenosha Museum in Kenosha, WI, the Experimental Aircraft Association Museum in Oshkosh, WI, the Norris Art Center in St. Charles, and in countless galleries and art shows across the Midwest. He won numerous awards and had been recognized by his peers as a true friend and master artist.

He is survived by his children, Mark (Lori) Taylor of Connecticut, Scott (Jeanne) Taylor of Colorado, and Amy Langhamer of Cary, and three grandchildren, Eric and Dana Taylor, and Kate Langhamer.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Elyse; his parents; and three brothers.

The family will greet friends from 11am to the 12:30pm Memorial Service on Monday, December 26, at Querhammer & Flagg Funeral Home, 500 W. Terra Cotta Ave., Crystal Lake.

For information call the funeral home at 815-459-1760. Online condolences may be made at www.querhammerandflagg.com