Merritt Harrison Taylor Jr.

Merritt Harrison Taylor, Jr., formerly head of the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Co., died March 26, 2010 at Indian River Medical Center in Vero Beach, Fla. He lived in Villanova and Devon, prior to moving to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. in 1971, and Vero Beach in 1973. Mr. Taylor was the third-generation of the Taylor family to head the public transit system, popularly known as Red Arrow Lines. Prior to becoming president in 1960, Mr. Taylor served his apprenticeship with the family company as both a trolley motorman and a bus driver. During his tenure at Red Arrow, he was a staunch advocate for private enterprise, and did not believe government operation of public transit would serve the public interest. Mr. Taylor expanded the system by acquiring weaker competitors and introduced many innovations to public transit, including private busways, intermodal rail-buses, and bar-car rail service. He was most proud of the family-like labor relations at the company, which experienced only one labor strike in its 122-year history. At the time he negotiated the sale to SEPTA, in 1970, Red Arrow was the last remaining private-sector transit system of its kind in the U.S. Until 1978, Mr. Taylor had been president of the Bryn Mawr Group, a Florida real estate development company and was best known as the proprietor of a series of popular restaurants, most notably of which was the oceanfront Red-Tailed Hawk in Vero Beach. He was for many years a breeder of champion dachshunds, both in Vero Beach, Fla. and in Sacramento, Calif., and was distinguished by his many blue ribbons. Mr. Taylor was born on April 27, 1922 in Philadelphia, and attended The Haverford School and the University of Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the 109th Field Artillery Regiment of the Pennsylvania National Guard in 1939, served as a staff officer in the 8th Air Force in England during World War II, and was called to serve in the Korean War, attaining the rank of major. He was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati of the Commonwealth of Virginia by virtue of his descent from Benjamin Harrison VI, Deputy Paymaster General of the Continental Army and son of the Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Survivors include his daughter, Adele T. Ulrich of Lancaster, Pa.; stepson, Walter N. Allen Jr. of Santa Fe, N.M.; brother, David W. Taylor of Athens, Ga.; and two grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 22 years, Geraldine, and by his brother, Peter S. Taylor. Memorial contributions may be made to the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, 1 Museum Road, Washington, PA (724) 228-9256 www.pa-trolley.org. A private celebration of life is planned in Vero Beach. Arrangements are by Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home and Crematory, Vero Beach. A guest book may be signed at lowtherfuneralhome.com.