James Edward Taylor, 1924-2010: Jeep worker had gift for figuring out car issues

James Edward Taylor, 85, a longtime Jeep worker who was a leader in his church, union, and community, died Saturday in Toledo Hospital.

The cause of death was not known, his wife, Curtis, said, but he was in failing health the last year. He'd undergone kidney dialysis the last five years.

Mr. Taylor was an emissions control technician when he retired in 1989 from the Jeep assembly plant, where he worked for more than 40 years.

He began on the assembly line and later worked in lathing, spot welding, and component manufacturing. He'd studied engineering at Wayne State University in Detroit and, at work, moved into diagnostic and problem-solving positions. In one job, he had to figure out what was wrong with vehicles that came off the line and just would not start.

"This is the era before computer-aided diagnosing," his son, J. Edward, said. "[He] had a good ear, a good eye, a good feel. He was mechanically gifted by God, but he applied a mental approach to scientifically finding out problems."

Mr. Taylor was a member of Local 12 of the United Auto Workers and was elected a steward.

"He was always a champion for the rights of workers," his son said.

He helped form the block club on Pinewood Avenue, where he and his wife lived nearly 60 years, and he gave out prizes for beautiful lawns and flowers.

Mr. Taylor was a leader in an area urban renewal council. He was a PTA president at his children's school, Roosevelt Elementary, which became Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary.

He was an emeritus trustee of Third Baptist Church, which he joined in 1947. He was a former Sunday school superintendent and music department chairman.

"Where he worked, the church he loved, the community he settled in, Daddy wasn't a bystander, he would throw himself in," his son said. "Daddy wasn't selfish. He was giving. It showed in his passions."

Another passion was growing roses. His yard was planted three or four bushes deep in some places. Varieties of tea rose were his favorites.

"I don't know where he got the energy, with his wife and children. We were never denied his time," his son said. "He was an A-No. 1 father and husband."

He was born Sept. 13, 1924, and grew up in rural Florence, Miss. He was an Army veteran of World War II and served in an engineering platoon in Europe.

He moved to Detroit after the war and, later, to Toledo, where a brother had settled. The brother's wife was the sister of Mr. Taylor's future wife. They grew up together in Mississippi, where their mothers were best friends.

Surviving are his wife, Curtis Taylor, whom he married Jan. 17, 1948; son, J. Edward Taylor; daughters, Sandra Denise Alli, Sharon Taylor, and Sonya Taylor; sisters, Sadie Ravon and Lou Emma Kirkland; five grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 4-6 p.m. Friday, followed by a wake service until 8 p.m., in the Dale-Riggs Funeral Home. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday in Third Baptist Church.

The family suggests tributes to the church.

Contact Mark Zaborney at:

mzaborney@theblade.com

or 419-724-6182.