James R. Taylor

James R. Taylor died Monday, January 19, 2015, after a 13 year battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 80 years old. He was born in 1934, to the late Fred and Lucille Taylor, formerly of Kingston, Tennessee. An Eagle Scout and 1953 graduate of Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, he served in the United States Air Force from 1955-1958, and also worked for the Federal Aviation Administration. In 1969, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. After returning to Middle Tennessee in the 1970s, he became a successful salesman of professional audio visual equipment. He moved to Lebanon, Tennessee in 1983 and became a member of Immanuel Baptist Church, where he was active in the church’s television ministry. In addition to his parents, he is predeceased by his son, Greg Taylor of Norman, Oklahoma. He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Betty J. Hager Taylor, his children, Randy Taylor Laura of Eufaula, Oklahoma, Nathan Taylor and Tammy Morris Dan, both of Hinton, Oklahoma, Dawn D. Taylor, of Nashville, Tennessee, seven grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, his siblings, Fred G. Taylor Caroline, of Kingston, Tennessee, and Beverly Desjardins of Hixson, Tennessee. The memorial service for James Taylor will be held at Immanuel Baptist Church in Lebanon, Tennessee, at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, January 26. Interment will be at 2 p.m. on the same day at Nashville National Cemetery in Madison, Tennessee. Memorial donations can be made to either the Gideons International online at https://www.gideons.org/HowYouCanHelp/GeneralDonations.aspx or by mail at P.O. Box 140800, Nashville, TN, 37214 or Vanderbilt University Medical Center, designated for Parkinson’s Disease research or Stroke research online at https://webapp.mis.vanderbilt.edu/olga/pub/landing?appealCode=A14PJ or by mail at Vanderbilt Gift Processing, PMB 407727, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37240-7727.