COLUMBIA - A memorial service celebrating the life of James Elliott Taylor, II “Jim”, 72, of Columbia, South Carolina, will be held at 2:00 pm, on Sunday, March 11, 2018, at Caughman-Harman Funeral Home, Lexington Chapel, located at 503 North Lake Drive, Lexington, South Carolina 29072.
The son of the late James Elliott Taylor and Esther Ruth Folk Taylor, he was born on July 15, 1945, in Columbia, South Carolina. Following years of declining health, he died peacefully in his sleep at Columbia Hospice House, on Friday, March 2, 2018, from complications of pneumonia.
Educated in the Columbia public schools, Mr. Taylor was a 1963 graduate of Eau Claire High School. He attended Montreat-Anderson College, Black Mountain, North Carolina, and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Engineering and supported and cheered loudly and enthusiastically throughout his life for his beloved Gamecocks.
Mr. Taylor was an Eagle Scout and participated in many years of active scouting projects and activities. One of his fondest Saturday tasks was serving as an usher for Gamecock football games. Spending many summer weekends at his grandparents’ Lake Murray home, he was an avid and skilled slalom water skier. He and his father spent hours on the water, teaching family and friends to ski. One of his great pleasures was skiing to the” Bombing Range Island” and back. In addition to scouting and skiing, Mr. Taylor was a Mason, Earlewood Lodge, Columbia, and all his life loved to dance the South Carolina Shag.
After being called to serve his country during the Viet Nam war, Mr. Taylor joined the U.S. Army and chose to serve in the artillery. After advanced training at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, he was assigned to the famed 442nd Battalion in Hawaii, where he was quickly promoted to sergeant and gun crew chief. His last assignment was in the 277th Military Intelligence Detachment, also in Hawaii. After his tour of duty, he returned to South Carolina to spend many years working at Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel in Columbia. He left his Westinghouse position to become a successful business entrepreneur.
A gentle, lively Southern gentleman, Mr. Taylor was gifted with a wonderful sense of humor and fun. He had the ability to tell a good story, of which his family will say that he had many. Part of the family mythology is his practical joking. One such story is that he had a car microphone which he used to admonish strangers on the street whom he caught littering. Needless to say, he had a lot of fun. He also had a love of auto mechanics and electronics. Never one to shy away from a challenge, he could often be found on weekends repairing, restoring, and enhancing performance of cars for himself and many others, earning the nickname “Gadget Man.”
Mr. Taylor is survived by his only child, James Elliott Taylor, III; sister, Karen Taylor Lumpkin (Arthur); twin sister, Jane Taylor Mergle (Bob); and Thomas H. Taylor (Rachel); and uncle, James Henry Folk, Jr. (Bobbie Jean), Mellie Sue Folk, Jimmie Lou Folk, and many beloved cousins and nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the South Carolina Alzheimer’s Association, Leeza Gibbons/Leeza’s Care Connection or to a charity of one’s choice. Memories and condolences may be shared at
Partager l'avis de décès
v.1.9.5