(Veteran) (Photo)

William Harold "Bill" Taylor Sr., 88

William Harold “Bill” Taylor Sr. was born December 18, 1926, in Blair, the son of Harold and Adeline (Carlson) Taylor. He passed into eternal rest on Saturday, May 9, 2015, in Fremont.

Bill was raised in Washington County and joined the U.S. Navy during WWII shortly after his 17th birthday, serving in the South Pacific on the destroyer USS Knapp.

He married May Schluter on April 15, 1953, at Salem Lutheran Church in Fremont.

Bill and May moved to a farm northeast of Oakland in 1961 where he also had a crop dusting business. He was active in veterans groups, serving as the VFW state commander in 1980 and as the Burt County Veterans Service officer after retiring from active farming. He had many friends across Nebraska and loved fishing, gardening, and spending time with his grandchildren.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents; sister Jeane; and brothers: Donald, Jim and Stan.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, May; sister Peggy Anderson of Blair; sons: Bill (Jean) of Elkhorn, Ken (Jayne) of Mead, and Calvin (Maureen) of Conestoga, Pa.; daughters: Ruth Trout and Helen Murray of Lincoln; 10 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, May 13, at 10:30 a.m. at the First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oakland. Visitation will be Tuesday, May 12, from 4 to 8 p.m., with family receiving friends from 6 to 8 p.m. at Pelan Funeral Services in Oakland. Visitation will also be held at the church one hour prior to service. Burial will be at Oakland Cemetery, with military honors by Ryan VFW Post No. 5543 and American Legion Post No. 46.

Memorials are suggested to First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oakland and the Oakland Ryan VFW Post No. 5543.

Omaha World Herald 12 May 2015

Taylor, Sr., William H. "Bill" Dec 18, 1926 - May 9, 2015 Age 88 of Oakland, NE. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, May; sister, Peggy Anderson of Blair; sons, Bill (Jean) of Elkhorn; Ken (Jayne) of Mead, Calvin (Maureen) of Conestoga, PA; daughters, Ruth Trout and Helen Murray of Lincoln; 10 grandchildren; and nine great-children. FUNERAL SERVICE Wednesday, May 13, 2015, 10:30am at the First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oakland. Burial Oakland Cemetery, with Military Honors by Ryan VFW Post No. 5543 and American Legion Post No. 46.

VISITATION Tuesday 4-8pm with family receiving friends from 6-8pm at Pelan Funeral Services in Oakland.

VISITATION will also be held at the church one hour prior to service. Memorials to First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oakland and the Oakland Ryan VFW Post No. 5543. PELAN FUNERAL SERVICES OAKLAND Oakland, NE 402-685-5673 www.pelanfuneralservices.com

Omaha World Herald

Navy man, former Nebraska VFW officer was tireless advocate for veterans

William Taylor

Navy man, former Nebraska VFW officer was tireless advocate for veterans By Betsie Freeman / World-Herald staff writer

To William “Bill” Taylor Sr., folks were just folks, no matter what they did or where they lived.

“He could approach anyone,” said son Calvin Taylor of Conestoga, Pennsylvania. “He had many friends and could talk to anybody.”

That trait served Taylor well as an advocate for veterans across Nebraska. He was the statewide commander for the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1979 and 1980.

Taylor died Saturday at Arbor Manor in Fremont. He was 88. He had been in failing health for about six months.

In addition to his VFW position, Taylor helped vets as the Burt County veterans service officer for about 10 years. He was a lifetime member of both the American Legion and the VFW.

“His most important work was for veterans,” his son said.

A Blair, Nebraska, native, Taylor joined the Navy the day after his 17th birthday in 1943, before he graduated from his hometown high school. He served on a destroyer in the South Pacific.

When he returned home, he earned a high school diploma and eventually got a commercial pilot’s license. That came in handy during the blizzard of 1949, when he delivered groceries to snowed-in ranchers near Bassett, Nebraska.

With wife May, he bought a farm near Oakland, Nebraska, in 1961. He built an airstrip on his land and hired out as a crop-duster. He went to work for Burt County after he retired from farming.

He loved gardening, spoiling his grandchildren and taking fishing trips to South Dakota and Minnesota.

Survivors include his wife; two other sons, Ken of Mead, Nebraska, and Bill of Elkhorn; daughters Ruth Trout and Helen Murray, both of Lincoln; sister Peggy Anderson of Blair; 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Services were Wednesday at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oakland.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~