Charles Richard "Dick" Taylor Jr.

Dick was born in San Antonio, Texas on April 29, 1934 to Evelyn Schroller Taylor and Charles Richard Taylor, Sr. Five years later, the family grew to include a second son, William “Bill” L. Taylor. The boys had an idyllic childhood, assisting in the family grocery store: Taylor’s Red & White Grocery, and spending summers with their uncle Noel Dean Schroller, who was approximately a year older than Dick, and their grandparents in Floresville, TX as well as an aunt and uncle in Corpus Christi, TX. Noel Dean and Dick especially enjoyed playing pranks on their mother and grandmother.

Dick graduated from Jefferson High School in San Antonio, TX in 1952. In an endeavor to see the world, Dick enlisted in the Navy shortly after graduation. In an ironic twist he spent most of his four year enlistment at a Navy base just outside Foley, Alabama. While in the Navy, Dick trained as an airplane mechanic. After his four years of active service ended in 1956, Dick served an additional mandatory four years in the naval reserves while he used the GI Bill to attend college. Dick began his college career by attending a local community college for a while before starting at Texas A&M. He attended Texas A&M for two years, then transferred to the University of Texas in Austin, where he built on his Navy experience as an airplane mechanic, and graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering.

After being recruited by Boeing Commercial Airplane Company, Dick moved from San Antonio, Texas to Seattle, Washington in 1962 with the intention of staying for just a few years. As an aeronautical engineer Dick worked on the SST, the Dash-80 which was the prototype of the 707, and several other projects. In November 1966, Dick met his future wife Terry Lee Meyer on a blind date. They dated off and on for the next two years. In September 1968, Dick proposed to Terry by saying “well, I guess we should probably get married!” They married on December 21, 1968 at Hope Lutheran Church in Seattle, Washington.

In 1971, Dick transferred to Boeing’s European Marketing and Sales Support Division where he worked until transferring to Domestic Sales in 1985. His first and only domestic account was Delta Airlines. In 1989 he transferred into European Sales and finally got to see some of the world when he managed the London sales office and his sales accounts included several of the airlines in England and Ireland. Later he also added the Swedish Airline SAS to his stable of airlines.

Dick and Terri adopted their daughter, Jami in 1974, bringing her home from the hospital at four days old. Dick was a devoted father, learning from his own father not only the value of hard work but the value of family. He reveled in spending time and traveling with his family as often as he was able. He loved spending daddy/daughter time with Jami whether it be lunch dates, shopping, skiing, hiking, running or just about anything else they could come up with.

Dick retired from Boeing after 36 years in 1998, shortly after he and Terry returned from London. They then worked to remodel the house they’d built together 25 years before in Redmond, Washington. Once the remodel was finished, Dick found himself getting bored after working hard for so many years. So he began a second career in wine. He worked for Guest Services at Chateau St. Michelle Winery in Woodinville, Washington, where he would conduct wine tours, work in the retail shop, and handle various other tasks for 10 years. During this time he also worked for two wine stores in Redmond, Washington and wrote a book which is yet unpublished, called The XYZs of Wine.

When Dick wasn’t working or spending time with family he indulged in several hobbies. He enjoyed doing things like hiking in the Cascade Wilderness, tennis, and golfing. He golfed until the dementia would no longer allow him to. Dick also loved riding his bike with his family. Chateau St. Michelle was a favorite destination, even before he started working there. Another activity Dick enjoyed was running, often doing practice runs with his daughter at the local high school when she was a member of the track team at her middle school. Dick and Terry travelled frequently both before and after retirement. He really enjoyed planning out the trips. After Dick retired from Boeing, he and Terry took two long driving trips a year, twice driving all the way across the U.S. Dick was an avid reader, devouring books on many subjects, but he especially loved books on history and the Second World War. The hobby Dick was most passionate about other than wine was snow skiing. He was a certified ski instructor and taught ski lessons for the Boeing Ski Club twice weekly for about seven years.

Surrounded by family, Dick passed away from vascular dementia on July 18, 2019 in Kirkland, Washington. Dick was preceded in death by his mom Evelyn, his dad Charles Sr., his grandparents, his favorite uncle Noel Dean, various other aunts and uncles, and his nephew Billy. Dick is survived by his best friend and wife of more than 50 years, Terry, his daughter Jami, his brother Bill, his aunt Jan, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law and nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to Seattle Children’s Hospital & Research Center in the name of Charles Richard Taylor, Jr. Donations can be given online: https://giveto.seattlechildrens.org/give, or by phone: 206-987-4844 or 800-635-1432 or by mail: Commemorative Giving, Seattle Children’s Hospital & Research Center, PO Box 5371, Seattle, WA 98145-5005.