William Eli Taylor M.D.

William Eli Taylor, M.D. -TENNILLE - William Eli Taylor, M.D., 67, died Sunday, June 29th at his home with his wife and daughters at his bedside after an extended illness. The funeral service will be held Tuesday, July 1st at 1P.M. at the Tennille United Methodist Church. Interment will follow immediately in Zeta Cemetery, Tennille, Georgia. Visitation will be held on Monday, June 30th from 5:00 until 8:00 P.M. at May and Smith Funeral Directors, 1119 Riddleville Road, Sandersville, Georgia. -A native of Laurens County, Georgia, Dr. Taylor was the son of the late Eli Thelma "Nun" Taylor and Florence Garner Taylor. He graduated valedictorian of his class from Dudley High School in 1959. He was a magna cum laude graduate of Mercer University in 1963. In 1967, he graduated from the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine where he received the Merck Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement and was elected into membership in Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society. In 1968, he established a solo family practice in Tennille until his medical retirement in 1999. He faithfully served his patients and the Washington County Regional Medical Center. He was a member of the Hospital Medical Staff, served as Trustee of the Hospital Authority, helped to establish the intensive care unit and the Extended Care Facility affiliated with the hospital and was instrumental in the hospital's receiving accreditation from the Joint Commission in the mid-1990's. Dr. Taylor was a Diplomate of the American Board of Family Practice and a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Practice. In addition, he was a member of the Medical Association of Georgia, the American Medical Association, and the Southern Medical Association and was a Certified Medical Director of the American Medical Directors Association. -Dr. Taylor was a member of the Tennille United Methodist Church where he sang in the Chancel Choir. In addition, he served as Secretary and later Chairman of the church's Administrative Board for several years. He also was a member of Brentwood School's Board of Directors for many years. In 1994, he received the Tennille Man of the Year Award. -Dr. Taylor is survived by Martha Moore Taylor, his wife of 44 years; his daughter, Laura Taylor Pridemore, M.D., and her husband Scott Alfred Pridemore of Charlotte, North Carolina; his daughter, Lynn Taylor Denny, M.D., and her husband Jeffrey Knox Denny, Ph.D. of Macon, Georgia; four grandchildren, Sarah Ann Pridemore, Katherine Martha Pridemore, Joshua Moore Denny, and Hannah Elise Denny; his sister, Jane Taylor Wall of Augusta; his brother, Harry Lamar Taylor and his wife Betty Taylor of Cairo, Georgia; his brother-in-law, Hugh Dorsey Moore, Jr. and his wife June Dixon Moore of Dublin, Georgia; and several nieces and nephews. -In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a lasting and living tribute be made in Dr. Taylor's memory to the Tennille United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 265, Tennille, Georgia 31089 or to the Macon Volunteer Clinic, 376 Rogers Avenue, Macon, Georgia 31204, where his daughter Lynn is the Medical Director. The Macon Volunteer Clinic is a non-profit organization that provides primary health care to the working, uninsured citizens of Bibb County. -www.mayandsmithfuneraldirectors.com