Lewis Taylor, Class of 1958

Lewis Taylor ’58 died Oct. 10, 2020. He was born October 2, 1936 in Grover Hill and was the son of the late Willis and Ilo (Eversole) Taylor. Lew graduated Grover Hill High School in 1954 and attended 2 years at Otterbein College where he was part of the Pi Kappa Phi (Country Club) fraternity. Lewis attended the Cincinnati School of Embalming while wife Eleanor worked in the college office.

After he graduated they moved to Columbus and started an apprenticeship with Cook & Son Funeral Home. At the young age of 22, he and Eleanor purchased the VanCleve Funeral Home in Amanda, Ohio and named it Taylor Funeral Home. Shortly after purchasing the funeral home he was drafted into the U.S. Army Reserve and was stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Upon his return he and his wife continued to operate the Taylor Funeral Home until his retirement in 2011.
For many years Lew, along with the help of very good friends, ran the emergency services from the funeral home until 1974 when he was instrumental in forming the Amanda Twp. EMS and served as coordinator for 10 years. He was a bus driver for Amanda Clearcreek and a volunteer fireman and EMT for many years. Lew was a member of Amanda Presbyterian Church and a 57 year member and 6 time past master of Amanda Lodge #509 F & AM. He was an extreme fan of Ohio State Athletics. So much so, that he would watch reruns on the Big 10 network for days. He was a Little League baseball coach and mentor to so many young people through the years.

He is survived by his wife, Eleanor Abbott Taylor; son Tom (Darla) Taylor; grandchildren, Matt (Sarah) Buckalew, Wayne “Eddie” (Misty) Stoneburner III and Justin (Lindsai) Caughenbaugh; 10 great grandchildren; brother, Loy (Kate) Taylor; sister, Ladonna Christine (John) Huebner; special aunt and uncle, Richard and Joy Taylor and a special cousin, Roger and Chris Taylor. He is also survived by Mark and Lori Hamann who Lew considered his second son. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his daughter, Tammy Taylor.