Jack Taylor

John Alfred Taylor, Sr., longtime television and radio news anchor known in Chicagoland as Jack Taylor, passed away peacefully from heart failure at age 94 in Mequon, WI.

Jack spent over 70 years on television and radio in the Chicago area. He was best known for his work at WGN-TV anchoring the competitive evening news in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Jack was born in Redfield, South Dakota on December 7, 1928, on a small farm. He endured poverty and hardship as a child of the Depression and the Dust Bowl. He was anxious to get out of the farming life having been put to hard work as a small child. Like many in his generation, his ticket was military service. He utilized his skills as a mechanic to obtain a plumb assignment working for the Jeep pool in the Army at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Because good mechanics were in high demand, it took much pleading and a few repairs in trade for an officer to recognize his signature voice and allow him transfer to Armed Forces Radio. This seminal fork in the road set Jack up for a lifetime on the air. At KNOX-AM, Armed Forces radio at Fort Knox, Kentucky, he became a staff announcer and established a lifetime love of jazz as a result of his recorded interviews with the greats: Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, and Stan Kenton, among others. He then continued radio work for WINN-AM in Louisville, Kentucky, a much bigger station. In Louisville, he met his adoring wife of 59 years, Virginia Pierce Taylor, while she played the ukulele with her aunt at a local restaurant bar.

They began a life bigger than either imagined due to her abiding faith in his ability and personal support. After much convincing from his wife, the small-town farm boy auditioned for a job at WCFL Chicago at the age of 20, and he got it! Taylor loved his work and spent nearly his entire life on the air in Chicagoland. He moved to WBBM-AM radio in Chicago in 1954 and then later that year to his longtime home of WGN-TV where he spent nearly 25 years as a news anchor, host, and announcer. He was the anchor of Chicago’s popular WGN-TV newscast from 1970 to 1979, along with Len O`Connor on commentary, Harry Volkman on weather, and Jack Brickhouse on sports. Jack Taylor helped pioneer the use of what was called the “mini-cam” at WGN-TV, helping convince his bosses that WGN needed the small cameras to compete and turn over news stories as fast and effectively as the network stations. He and the WGN team were able to do something no other independent station had done to that point by beating CBS and NBC in the Chicago market ratings several times, behind only the great Fahey Flynn at ABC-TV.

His final years on television in Chicago culminated as a financial news anchor, commentator, and interviewer for many years on “The Stock Market Observer” on Chicago’s WCIU-TV channel 26 where he developed a rich relationship with his financial audience and cultivated interviews with the nation’s newsmakers that made WCIU-TV “must watch” TV for those in the financial community. He moved to WebFN-TV, a 24-hour financial news network before returning to radio at WLOO-FM radio, known as “FM-100” where he had a top-rated morning radio show in Chicago.

Many of Taylor’s years were spent in radio. Taylor was the host of “The Jack Taylor Show” on 1220 WKRS radio in Waukegan and finished his career in 2022 amazingly at the age of 92 on WDCB’s “Midwest Ballroom,” where he did a two-minute commentary. In addition to Armed Forces Radio, Taylor worked at KMBC in Kansas City. Taylor has conducted more than 55,000 interviews with guests ranging from Marlon Brando to Presidents Ford and Reagan. In 2001, Taylor was inducted into the National Academy of Television’s Arts and Sciences Silver Circle.

Taylor was given a horse the day he was born, spoke often of King and Duke, his farm plow team and how he learned as a child to drive and work with them in the fields. He shared this passion throughout his lifetime eventually winning a National Pleasure Driving Championship with the family’s beloved Saddlebred, King Joshua.

Taylor also restored antique cars and gained many friends and hours of pleasure with his wife Virginia both touring with their 1914 Model T Ford and his 1947 Rolls-Royce Sedanka Deville. Both cars were lovingly restored by Taylor and remained a source of fascination and joy.

Jack was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia Pierce Taylor, and his sister Maxine Marshall of Hitchcock, South Dakota, and his grandchild Matthew Pierce Aleksich. He is survived by his brother, Jerry Taylor (Diane), of Sioux City, Iowa, and his children, daughter Sherry Taylor Aleksich, (Andrew Aleksich,) son, Jack Taylor, Jr. (Kristalina Taylor,) daughter, Amy Taylor Diamond, (Jason Diamond) son, Paul Kreske (Gretchen) son, Jay Kreske (Jennifer), and 15 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

Family only will attend interment in beloved Saugatuck, Michigan where Taylor spent many joy filled days with his family.

Visitation will be Friday, February 10, 2023, at Kristan Funeral Home, 219 W. Maple Avenue, Mundelein, Il 60060 from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

A memorial service will take place Saturday, February 11, 2023, at 11:00 am at Community Protestant Church, 418 Prairie Avenue, Mundelein, IL 60060.  In lieu of flowers memorials to the American Cancer Society at https://donate3.cancer.org/   or https://innocenceproject.org/