Thomas Taylor

Thomas William Taylor 1943 - 2024.

Tommy Taylor passed away peacefully on December 30th in Salt Lake City, Utah from Alzheimer's disease. He is survived by his wife, Linda Taylor; his sister and brother-in-law, Jane and Dave Seal; his children, Pamela and Lansing Taylor; their spouses Doug Schmidt and Chelsea Taylor; and six grandchildren, Tasneem Malik, Saara Khalid, Ameera Khalid, Noora Khalid, Elias Taylor, and Ezra Taylor.

Tommy was born in Columbus, Indiana on February 11th, 1943, to Margaret and Virgil Taylor. He played trumpet with his father in the Methodist church band from a very young age. As a young man, he was an Eagle Scout and an avid outdoorsman: camping, canoeing, waterskiing, and hiking in the forests and waterways of Southern Indiana. He met the love of his life, Linda Followell, at Columbus High School, and they were married for 61 years. They attended Indiana University together where their first child, Pamela, was born.

After graduating from Harvard Law School, Tommy worked for Ropes and Grey, a nationally acclaimed legal firm, where he concentrated on contracts, facilitating public works, the construction of university facilities, and he represented the federal government in the prevention of New York going bankrupt. He and Linda first settled in Bedford, MA where their son Lansing was born. Soon after, they moved to a rambling farmhouse in Acton, Mass where they raised their family.

Tommy's love of adventure never waned. He took the family hiking and camping, including one memorable Christmas spent in a tent in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He also introduced his wife and kids to rock climbing, bicycling, both downhill and cross-country skiing, canoeing, kayaking, orienteering, and windsurfing. After retiring, he continued to pursue his passions, playing trumpet with the Concord Band and teaching snowboarding at Nashoba Ski area. Tommy had several once in a lifetime adventures - summitting Mt. McKinley (now known as Denali) in Alaska and Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina. To celebrate his 60th birthday, he paddled his canoe 1000 miles on the Yukon River. He and Linda spent several years as volunteer astronomy docents at Chaco Canyon, where Tommy's Navaho friends fondly nicked named him "Tommy Tastlisin" (Tommy talks a lot) due his love of telling tales. Tommy and Linda enjoyed living on a lake in deep East Texas for several years and then settled in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Tommy's family would like to thank The Ridge Foothill for providing Tommy and Linda 4 years of love and care. We also wish to thank Canyons Hospice for their excellent care.

Memorial gifts suggested to the Appalachian Mountain Club or the Concord Band.