John A. Saylor M.D.

John A. Saylor, M.D.


Years..... actually decades after he retired, people would often approach Dr. John Saylor in the grocery store or at restaurants to express how much he had impacted their lives. "Thank you for taking care of me and my family," someone would say. "I'll never forget how kind you were when my daughter was sick and I was scared," said another.

John A. Saylor, M.D. died April 12, on Easter 2020. He would have celebrated his 100th birthday today on Father's Day. Dr. Saylor is survived by his wife, Verla Saylor; his daughter, Laura Saylor, and three stepchildren Leslie Gilpin Dublin, Gary Gilpin and Larry Gilpin. He had numerous grandchildren through his wife Rachael Gilpin, Jeffrey Dublin and Spencer Scobie-Gilpin but no biological grandchildren.

Dr. Saylor also had a son, Adam, who preceded him in death on Dec. 13, 1968. The 1972 Jackson Browne hit, "Song for Adam," was written for the younger Saylor. Every Christmas, Dr. Saylor would wear a shirt he had purchased for Adam's burial in India. It was a very personal way Dr. Saylor could honor his son's memory as the years went by.

Dr. Saylor also is survived by an adopted son, Prentice Hill.

Most of Dr. Saylor's life was spent as a resident of Long Beach, California, having first experienced the area as a student at Long Beach City College. After graduating from Harvard Medical School, Dr. Saylor returned to Long Beach, where he devoted the majority of his 50-year medical career to his family practice on Village Road. Prior to that, though, he served as a doctor in Okinawa, Japan during World War II. Dr. Saylor was always very humble about his military service.

In 1960, he saved the life of his former stepson, Edward Delcoure, through full blood transfusions. Dr. Saylor was the medical director of Memorial Hospital when it moved from Chestnut Avenue to Atlantic Avenue in 1960. He also was one of the founders of Woodruff Community Hospital.

Dr. Saylor lived an incredible, inspirational life he appeared to effortlessly do enough to fill 100 lifetimes. A true renaissance man, Dr. Saylor sang and played musical instruments, including the guitar, trumpet, piano, harmonica and drums. He also sewed clothes, polished rocks, created stained glass windows, sailed, and took beautiful photos that he developed himself. His bulldog, Kippax Fearnought, known as "Jock," was the first bulldog to win "Top Dog" Best In Show in the Westminster Kennel Club. At the same time, Jock was the first dog to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated on July 4, 1955.

Dr. Saylor wrote a book on the advantages of legalizing drugs, as well as a script that was translated from a German novel. In addition, he studied multiple languages, including German, Spanish and French. For decades, Dr. Saylor wrote multiple letters to the editor that were published in both the Long Beach Press-Telegram and the Los Angeles Times. He also loved to ride his bike, a trait that both of his daughters have inherited. Dr. Saylor loved to create spectacular slideshows set to music. In 2003, he took it a step further when he began creating and editing what would result in thousands of DVDs, which he called "Tone Poems. " The Tone Poems put contemporary music to inspirational photos he found in the daily newspaper. Each poem proved to be a unique and educational mix of entertainment, culture, music, society and world events.


Dr. Saylor liked to build things too. With his family, he built a cabin in Oregon, a deck at his house in the Sunrise Boulevard Historic Landmark District, bookshelves along the walls of his home (which today still hold a veritable library with thousands of books in every fiction and nonfiction genre imaginable) and a motor home to travel and explore the country with his wife and children. Also an entrepreneur, Dr. Saylor purchased and transformed the Paragon Room in Lakewood, California. The restaurant was named after its sound system, which was the most expensive of the time, and was the first establishment to allow patrons to cook their own steaks.

Dr. Saylor will be missed not only for his ability as a doctor, but also for his kindness, his wit, his charm, his love for his family, and his appreciation for the little things the things that make life truly beautiful.