Taylor Johnson

Walter Taylor Johnson, Jr., born January 17, 1936, in Suffolk, Virginia, passed away on February 25, 2026, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Taylor, as he was known, was the son of Walter Taylor Johnson, Sr., and Ethel Storey Johnson Blair. Taylor lost his beloved wife, Bettie Ann Orenduff Johnson, on March 7, 2025, and is survived by his daughters and sons-in-law: Elizabeth & Mark Gustafson, and Patricia & Robert Kirchner; and his grandchildren: Devin King (James), Drew Gustafson, Brett Kirchner (Charlotte) and Stephen Kirchner (Claire). Taylor had an adopted sister, Marie, who predeceased him.

Taylor spent his early years in various parts of Florida and Virginia, where he first developed his love of the beach and southern food. Among his other wide-ranging interests growing up, Taylor focused most on his love of music, culminating in his time as a drummer, “Sticks Johnson,” in several bands during his teen years in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Taylor left Virginia to begin his undergraduate study and a lifelong affiliation of great pride at Duke University in 1954. While studying at Duke, he returned home to Portsmouth for a Woodrow Wilson High School reunion where he connected with the love of his life, Bettie Ann Orenduff. They were married in 1957, just before Taylor started medical school.

Taylor graduated from Duke Medical School in 1961, the same year in which he began his active duty in the Navy, another long-time affiliation of which he was immensely proud. Also in 1961, he and Bettie Ann moved to Bethesda, Maryland, where Taylor completed his medical internship year at the National Naval Medical Center, and where they welcomed their first daughter, Elizabeth. They celebrated the arrival of their second daughter, Tricia, in 1962.

Taylor completed his dermatology residency at the U.S. Naval Hospital in San Diego, California, and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and a dermatopathology fellowship at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, D.C.

Taylor then settled into a Navy dermatology practice back at National Naval Medical Center, where he ultimately served as Chief of Dermatology from 1978 -1981. During this time, in addition to his patient care, Taylor took great pride in teaching new and soon-to-be doctors, both at the National Naval Medical Center and at Georgetown University School of Medicine, and in collaborating with colleagues on dermatologic research and publications.

Following his retirement from the Navy after 22 years, Taylor developed a thriving, full-time private dermatology practice in Maryland, with Bettie Ann running the operations, seeing patients for almost 20 years until they were ready to retire. Taylor invested fully in each of his patients, students, and colleagues, both through his formal roles and in adopted roles as counselor, mentor, friend, and, for some, tennis partner.

In retirement, Taylor and Bettie Ann moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, where Taylor embraced the opportunity to engage even more fully in his many interests: tennis, gardening, playing pool, photography, food, travel, alumni interviewing for Duke, music, and all things relating to computers.

Taylor joined the Cape Fear Jazz Society and a photography club, and served on the board of directors and as president of the Kenan Chapel of Landfall. In Wilmington, as in other places, Taylor and Bettie Ann had the kind of home to which people sought invitations – in part because the house and gardens were beautiful, but primarily because their home always was lively and welcoming.

The ultimate “family-man,” Taylor prioritized filling his house with family fun as often as possible, from the time his girls were young through the years his grandchildren became adults.

Taylor and Bettie Ann also hosted countless gatherings of friends around the pool in the backyard, or at the pool table, or to watch a Duke game. Taylor also loved the latest technology, and most visits to the house included an introduction to the newest gadget he was attempting to master. Music was always playing in the house, though the genres varied widely, from “the happy radio station” most mornings, to evening jazz, and Sunday’s classical music. Always planning the next good meal, Taylor could be found most nights cooking something on his grill. And Taylor always had dessert, at least once, each day. Whatever they were doing, Taylor and Bettie Ann did it together, still holding hands wherever they went more than 67 years into their marriage.

In January 2025, Taylor and Bettie Ann moved to Raleigh, N.C., to be closer to family. Ever the enthusiast, and even following Bettie Ann’s passing, Taylor grew to love Raleigh and his new community, even trying to recruit some of his Wilmington friends to join him there.

Every interaction with Taylor was elevating. A conversation with Taylor almost always included genuine laughter and always left one encouraged and heartened, both on a personal level and with respect to the prospects for society as a whole. His appetite for continuous learning was coupled with a genuine openness to different perspectives, and he regularly sought the input of his grandchildren and others younger than he to keep him current. A genuine optimist, he was charming and gracious without being obsequious, patriotic without being dogmatic, gentle while also resolute, and traditional while the farthest thing from antiquated.

Taylor made friends wherever he went, and while he always sought to treat everyone equally, he also had the gift of making everyone in his world feel special.

Taylor’s warmhearted nature extended to everyone he encountered, whether the relationship was for a moment or a lifetime. Above all else, though, Taylor’s commitment to his family’s happiness and fulfillment, which his family felt deeply every day, was his defining quality and most enduring legacy.

The family will celebrate Taylor’s life later this spring in Wilmington, North Carolina.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to one of Taylor’s favorite organizations:

Frank H. Kenan Chapel at Landfall Memorial Garden Fund: Donate & Volunteer - Frank H. Kenan Chapel

Cape Fear Jazz Society: Cape Fear Jazz Society

Duke University : Duke Annual Fund - Giving To Duke