John David Taylor

John David (Dave) TaylorJohn David (Dave) Taylor of Bluffton, SC, died on April 17, at the Medical University Hospital of South Carolina in Charleston, following a brief illness. Born Sept. 29, 1939, in Pittsburgh, PA, to Robert Marsden Taylor and Esther McCarthy Taylor, Dave had two older brothers, Robert Marsden Taylor, Jr., and William McCarthy Taylor. He was predeceased by both his parents and his brothers. Educated in Pennsylvania and New York schools, he graduated with a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in 1963. Prior to graduating from college, he served two years in the U.S. Army, including a tour of duty in Korea. He then worked in the aerospace industry for over 35 years, most of them with the McDonnell Douglas Corporation in Long Beach, CA. He managed engineering development teams that designed advanced cockpit avionics for the DC-10, MD-80/90, MD-11 and C-17. Upon retiring from McDonnell Douglas in 1995, he worked in a similar capacity on the G-V for Gulfstream Aerospace in Savannah, GA. Dave was first and foremost a family man, devoted to his wife Nancy Sullivan Taylor whom he married on September 5, 1964. He is survived by her and their three children: John David Taylor, Jr., of Chicago, his wife, Maria Simon, and their children, Mia, Jack and Kate; Susan Taylor de Kerchove of Brussels, Belgium, her husband, Jean, and their children, Olivia, Laurence, James and Madeleine; and Robert J. Taylor of Reno, his wife, Lisa Anderson Taylor, and their daughter, Ashley. Other survivors include his three sisters-in-law: Sister Barbara Sullivan, C.S.J, Mrs. Robert Sullivan and Mrs. Kenneth Sullivan, and several nieces and nephews. Dave and Nancy have resided at Colleton River Plantation, Bluffton, since 1996. They have been active members and faithful supporters of Saint Gregory the Great Catholic Church and its elementary school. A private funeral Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated by the Rev. H. Gregory West at Saint Andrew's Chapel in Bluffton. The family would like especially to thank the doctors, nurses and staffs at Hilton Head Hospital and MUSC, as well as the caregivers from Griswold Home Health Care and Amedysis, who treated Dave and his family with the utmost kindness, professionalism and compassion; also the staff at Saint Gregory the Great, especially Father Wilbroad Mwape; and niece Bridget Sullivan Pierce for her help and solicitude. They also wish to thank the religious community of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondolet, especially Sister Barbara Ann Stowasser, C.S.J.; and finally the Colleton River Plantation community at every level, security, food staff, and administration, and all their friends there for their kindness and support. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to your favorite charity, or to a cause that was important to Dave which provides year round support for the poor and under-served in the greater Bluffton community: Community Foundation of the Low Country CRP Operation Santa Claus Fund PO Box 23019 Hilton Head Island, SC 29925