Christopher James Taylor

1958 - 2017

Taylor, Christopher James

Christopher James Taylor, 59, passed away unexpectedly at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 7, 2017. Chris was born on August 31, 1958 to Donald and Mary ("Betty") Taylor of Stevens Point. He graduated from the University of WI Stevens Point in 1981. At that time he was working a variety of jobs including Trade Home Shoes, Hunter's Corners and the Diver's Den. Following graduation he moved to Santa Barbara, CA where he attended the Brooks Institute of Photography. He received his Master's Degree in Communications. While attending school, he enjoyed traveling the California coast line on charter boats and working as a professional scuba diving instructor. He also worked for Media West photography in Santa Clara, California and had many of his photographs published in magazines including National Geographic, Nevada, and LIFE. In 1985 he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where he worked as a Senior Special Operations Photographer at the Lawrence Livermore National Research Laboratory. He worked at the Nevada military test site and also traveled to Yuma, AZ to work for the Department of Defense at the Yucca Valley test site. He returned to school and in 2002 earned his Ph.D in Sociology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He taught Social sciences, social statistics, philosophy, and criminology at variety of colleges in Utah, Arizona, Iowa, and Oregon. He received faculty honors from UNLV for excellence in Philosophy. Chris returned to his beloved Las Vegas a few years ago because it was "home" to him. He was teaching at the Nevada Community College. Chris loved the desert. He loved hiking, camping, photography, and working in his yard. Chris will be dearly missed. He was known for his sense of humor. He was preceded in death by his mother, Mary Taylor, and a brother, Brian. He is survived by his father, Donald Taylor of Stevens Point, a sister, Cathy Taylor of Marshfield, and brothers Kerry (Lisa) Taylor of Stevens Point, and Scott (Laurie Kestell) of Milwaukee, nephews Brian, Nathaniel, Aaron, Benjamin and one niece, Sarah, as well as many friends. He also left behind his beloved cats who will be well cared for. A Memorial Service and Life Celebration will be held in Las Vegas at a future date.