Forrest H. Taylor

The youngest of eight children born to John and Minnie Shearer Taylor, he was born December 4, 1911 in Emerson, Iowa. On November 21, 1937, in St. Louis, Missouri, he married Elizabeth Owen Hawker, who preceded him in death on March 2, 1997. He was also preceded in death by his three brothers, Lawrence Robert Taylor, Merritt Whitman Taylor, and Maurice Shearer Taylor; and his four sisters, Dr. Ruth Elaine Taylor, Agnes Maude Taylor Fowler, Ada Blanche Taylor and Marjorie Grace Taylor Swan. Surviving Mr. Taylor are his son, Wayne Lee Taylor and his wife, Michelle, of Velarde, New Mexico; their children Christopher Todd Taylor, Pamela Suzanne Taylor, and Alixandra Natalia Lyon-Bramhall; his son, James Whitman Taylor and his wife, Gladys, of Houston, Texas; their children Kimberly Elizabeth Taylor Barton and her husband Paul Edwin Barton of Dallas, Jeffrey Wayne Taylor of Houston, and Paul Lavigne Taylor and his wife Rachel Marie Taylor of Dallas; and two great-grandchildren Samuel Paul Barton and Eliana Marie Taylor, both of Dallas; and their daughter, Patricia Ann Taylor, of San Antonio and her friend Avis F. Moore. Also surviving Mr. Taylor are his special friend, Kae Billik of the Meadows Retirement Community, many loving friends and extended family and a family of faith at Coker UMC.

Mr. Taylor was raised in Emerson, Iowa and in July of 1932 graduated from the University of Iowa in Iowa City with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Commerce, Economics, and Sociology. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa national undergraduate honors organization and Order of Artus national economics honors organization. After graduation from college, Mr. Taylor moved to St. Louis, where he was employed in the personnel field. In 1958, he became a personnel consultant specializing in executive recruitment and in 1976 established his own firm - Bicentennial Personnel Consultants.

Mr. Taylor lived for 35 years near Troy, Missouri where he enjoyed raising quarter horses. He was active in Rotary International in both St. Louis and Troy and was a Paul Harris Fellow. In 2000, he moved to the Meadow's Retirement Center in San Antonio, Texas, a part of Morningside Ministries. He was a member of Coker United Methodist Church and the John Wesley Sunday School class until his health prevented participation.