Howard M. Taylor

Howard M. Taylor passed away September 5, 2025, at the age of 88. Son of Howard M. Taylor, Jr., and Dorothy L. Taylor (nee Wannenwetsch), Howard was born and raised in Baltimore, Md. He attended Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, where he completed the A-Course and played ice hockey. He received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in Mathematical Statistics from Stanford University. He taught at Cornell University in the Department of Operations Research from 1965-1986, with visiting positions at Oxford, La Trobe, and Berkeley. Howard co-authored three textbooks and published numerous papers in statistics and probability. In 1986, he left Cornell to become Professor of Mathematics at the University of Delaware, from which he retired in 1995. Throughout his academic career, and particularly when he served as Director of Graduate Admissions in the Cornell OR Department, Howard advocated on behalf of women pursuing advanced degrees in mathematics.

Howard began hunting and fishing as a boy with his grandfather and uncle. He carved his own decoys to shoot over and broke through ice on Cayuga Lake and braved Ithaca blizzards during hunting season. He bait-fished on the Outer Banks, fly-fished in Alaska, Colorado, and Scotland, and trolled with lures in the Chesapeake Bay. During his retirement, he enjoyed swing dancing and made many new friends on the dance floor. Howard was an excellent cook, known especially for his (Northern Spy) apple pies. He was kind, good-hearted, generous, funny, passionate about causes he believed in, and beloved by almost everyone who knew him. He is survived by his wife, Florence Newman; his nephew, John Cook (Eve); and his great-niece, Julie (A.J.). He was predeceased by his sister, Barbara Raley.

A Celebration of Life for Howard Taylor will be held Friday, October 3, 4:00-6:00 p.m., at Towson Central Presbyterian Church. To honor Howard's memory, donations may be made to the Kathryn M. Chaloner Memorial Fund (givetoiowa.org/public-health - "see additional options"); the Gertrude M. Cox scholarship (www.amstat.org, write "Gertrude Cox Scholarship" in the Additional Details section of the form); or the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (https:www.cbf.org).