Glenn E. Taulton Sr.

1951 - 2023

Glenn Edward Taulton Sr., 71, of Clairton, died in his home in Burlington, Vt., Saturday, May 13, 2023. Glenn was born Oct. 31, 1951, in McKeesport, and was the son of the late Joseph and Agnes (Battle) Taulton. Music was his greatest love and it started at an early age. His grandfather, James "Boogie" Taulton, was a well-known traveling jazz club pianist and Glenn got his start singing in the choir at Morning Star Baptist Church, a church that counted among its founders his great uncle, the Rev. John Cyrus Taulton. Glenn attended Clairton High School, where he played the tuba in the marching band. In college, he joined the jazz club and often played conga drums with an Afro-Latin music group in the neighborhood. He graduated with a degree in music education from Duquesne University in 1973, proficient in tuba, string bass and voice. After graduating, he worked as a music teacher for a time before getting married and joining the Navy as a band leader and cryptologic technician. He traveled with his family to Pensacola, Fla., and Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico, before being honorably discharged and settling in Manassas, Va. There, he got a job in the clean tech lab at IBM. He would stay with IBM for nearly 20 years, moving his family to Vermont to work at the Essex plant when the Virginia plant closed. An animated storyteller and entertainer, Glenn made friends easily and chose to remain in Burlington after his wife moved back to Pittsburgh following their separation. He was an active organizer for labor and civil rights. And continued to sing, dance, play conga drums and act in local theater productions until a shoulder injury stopped him a month before his unexpected passing. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Gail. Glenn is survived by his former wife, Frances; loving children, Tiffany, Glenn Jr. and James (Carolina); brother, Byron, of Adrian, Mich.; sister, Agnes Josephine; grandchildren, Michael, Jamie and Mya, all of Pittsburgh; Zoe Fleming, of Burlington, Vt., whom he helped raise; and many beloved extended family and friends around the world. A funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, May 22, 2023, in Morning Star Baptist Church in Clairton, followed by a military burial at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies. There will be a memorial service at 11 a.m. June 4 in First United Methodist Church, of Burlington, Vt. A GoFundMe campaign has been created to support the family with his final expenses. https://www.gofundme.com/f/send-glenn-home-with-honorutm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_content=undefined&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer&utm_term=undefined.