Ralph Wayne Taylor

Taylor, Ralph W., 83, of Clearwater, Florida, passed from this life and was welcomed into Heaven on September 19, 2010. He was surrounded by the warm embrace of his loving family, including his wife of 59 years, Jean Taylor of Clearwater, his daughter JoNelle Holdsworth of Clearwater, a son Alan Taylor of Clearwater, a daughter Cheryl Roberts and son-in-law John Roberts of Milford, Michigan, his daughter Roseanne Herndon and son-in-law Greg Herndon of Bradenton, Florida, and son Scott Taylor of Tampa, Florida. He also leaves behind a sister Virginia Anderson, a sister Lenore Padgett, and brother Keith Taylor, as well as grand children Michelle DeHaven, Chris Taylor, Michael Taylor, Johnnie Roberts, Wade Roberts, Melody Adkins and Deanne Adkins, 12 great grand children and many nieces and nephews.

Mr. Taylor was born August 5, 1927 in the small ranching community of Felda, Florida in Hendry County, to Homer and Mildred Taylor (née Manley). After graduating from LaBelle High School, he attended Asbury College (now Asbury University), a nondenominational Christian liberal arts college in Wilmore, Kentucky for one year before enlisting in the U.S. Navy where he served his country for just over two years near the conclusion of World War II. Stationed out of San Diego, California, Mr. Taylor discharged his patriotic duty throughout the Pacific region aboard the USS Bracken (APA-64), an attack transport, and the LST-1123 (USS Sedgwick County), a tank landing ship, as both a Seaman Apprentice and Fireman Apprentice. For his service, he received the American Area Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, the American Defense Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. Later, he re-enlisted in the Naval Reserves from 1949 through 1953.

After receiving an honorable discharge from active service in December 1947, Mr. Taylor re-enrolled at Asbury, where he graduated in 1950, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Math. He returned to Florida after graduation and briefly taught math in Collier County public schools while courting Norma Jean Booth of LaBelle. The two were married on January 5, 1951. The young couple soon moved to Coral Gables, Florida, so that Mr. Taylor could enroll at the University of Miami’s College of Engineering. The young family remained in south Florida until Mr. Taylor was hired as a design engineer by General Electric Aviation at the company’s jet engine plant (near Cincinnati, Ohio). The plant, known as Evendale, later became GE Aviation's world headquarters.

Mr. Taylor remained at GE for four years until he was recruited by the Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), and the growing family returned to Florida, eventually settling in Titusville (“Space City”) where they remained until 1973. It was here that Mr. Taylor spent the bulk of his early career, working at the genesis and apex of the country’s space exploration program.

Mr. Taylor spent 15 years with the Martin Marietta Astronautics Group, working primarily out of the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral as design engineer, chief engineer, construction manager and project manager on the Titan project, a family of powerful space launch vehicles. In addition to its role in national defense, the work on Titan provided NASA with valuable research and information for its early space station and space shuttle projects.

After retiring from Martin Marietta, he co-founded Taylor Industries, Inc., a class A state certified general contractor in Ft. Myers, Florida. For over two decades, Taylor Industries was synonymous with quality home and commercial construction during the era that southwest Florida experienced a massive growth and development boom. He retired from Taylor Industries in 1996.

A man of deep spiritual faith, Mr. Taylor and his wife were sustaining members of First Assembly of God church in Fort Myers for 35 years, where Mr. Taylor served as an usher and in a number of other volunteer capacities. The Taylors moved to Clearwater in 2008.

A service will take place on Wednesday, September 22, at Moss Feaster Funeral Home at 13401 Indian Rocks Road, Largo. Visitation begins at 2:00 pm; service begins at 3:00 pm, with burial, including military honors, to follow at the adjacent Serenity Gardens. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Suncoast Hospice.

Arrangements under the direction of Moss Feaster Serenity Gardens Chapel, Largo, FL.