Richard Eugene Taylor

Richard E. Taylor (Rick), 65, of Tigard, Oregon, passed away suddenly in his home on February 15th, 2017. Born in Bremerton, WA on August 1st, 1951, Rick had a very successful career, but above all else was an extraordinary family man.

Rick began work at Business Machine Company as a typewriter repairman in 1972. He became a Firefighter in 1975, hired by Tualatin Rural Fire Protection District (TRFPD), later Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue (TVF&R). He promoted to Engineer, Lieutenant and then served as Lieutenant-Paramedic for the remainder of his career with TVF&R. Rick retired in 2002. He made life long friends in the fire service and was a mentor to both aspiring firefighters and many probationary firefighters, too. Rick loved “fighting fire and saving lives” as he would say if you asked him about work and never lost sight of the value of first responders.

While continuing as a firefighter, he began working as a Flight Paramedic for AirCare in 1988 and Life Flight in 1991. With his many years of service he became one of the most senior paramedics to work for Life Flight. Again, he has a circle of best friends from the organization. In his words “the most dangerous job in the world!” During his career at Life Flight, Rick pursued an interest in teaching with Education for life, where he taught basic and advanced life support courses to both non-medical and medical professionals. After his retirement from Life Flight in 2014, he continued teaching with Cascade Learning Center, which kept him busy when he wasn’t golfing, hanging with his grandkids or traveling.

Rick led a life of service in other ways, not just as a public servant but also as a member of Community of Christ since he was a young adult. He was a dynamic youth leader and mentor for decades, and influenced the lives of countless youth through summer camps, SPECTACULAR (a sports, arts and leadership camp at Graceland University) and his leadership as pastor for the Tuality congregation of Community of Christ.

By far, his favorite activity was golf. Anyone who knew him would know that if he wasn’t home, he was likely on the golf course. His dedication and addiction to the sport was legendary… from owning every golf gadget ever invented to winning golf tournaments to playing in often freezing cold conditions in Canada to Pebble Beach, Rick simply loved the game. More than the score, he loved the time spent on the course with those he golfed with. Such precious time he spent with Steve, Randy, Brandon, Mike, John, and probably his favorite partner as of late was his grandson, Matthew. But it’s likely that if he knew you golfed, he would ask you to join him on the course……any course.

Rick had a strong sense of social responsibility which occasionally translated to voicing his political opinions, often unsolicited. He was unapologetic and enthusiastic about his beliefs.

In addition to his commitment to work and passion for golf, and truly the most important thing to Rick was his family. He is survived by his loving wife of 44 years, Debi (Balsiger) who he so clearly loved and adored; his daughters, Allison (Andrew Furey) and Katie (Brandon Beckett), who made him so proud; and his five grandchildren Matthew, Maggie, Mallory, Rachael and Mark. He lived to play with these kids and in turn brought such love to their lives. He will be sorely missed by them and his legacy lives on in the smiles and hearts of these precious children.

Rick was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Marion Taylor and sister, Wendy Jones. He is survived by his brothers Robert, Randy (Carolyn) and Robin (Debbie); his parents in law Donald and Shirley Balsiger, brothers in law Don, Steve (Kim), Jim (Patty) and sister in law Janet (Mike). He loved and is loved by many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held in the Agnes Flanagan Chapel at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon on March 26, 2017 at 2pm. Those whose lives were touched by Rick are welcome. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to the following:

Team Broken Earth. Donation cards will be available at the service, or online at www.brokenearth.ca

OR

Northwest Spectacular

Attn: Sean Langdon

2713 NW Arnold Way

Corvallis, OR 97330

Peace and Love