Today we celebrate the life of Jon Thomas Taylor.
Jon was born in Port Arthur, Texas. He spent his early years growing up with his wonderful parents, two brothers and grandmother in the small town of Radford, VA. He and his dad spent time building small sailboats to sail around Claytor Lake and he and his parents loved gardening.
He had a very loving childhood and carried it throughout his life.
Jon earned his Ph.D. in Linguistics/Philosophy from Florida State University and moved on to teach at Florida Community College for 35 years.
Just some of his accomplishments include: writing papers for various conferences he attended, receiving a scholarship to the University of London, and living and teaching a group of students in Oxford, England for 8 weeks. Jon was dedicated to education and teaching. He loved being in the classroom. He leaves behind a legacy of inspiring his students and others to be positive and follow their dreams and aspirations for their future. He simply had a gift for teaching. So many will profit from this for the rest of their lives.
Jon loved the water. At age 19 he completed a year at the Merchant Marine Academy in New York. He absolutely loved the Maine Lobster boat he bought in 1980 that he named Solitaire. That was his pride and joy. He also was a boat builder, building other boats himself, such as a 16’ skiff and a couple of dinghies to pull behind Solitaire.
Jon loved his animals. He adopted numerous cats and raised goats at one time. He always took time to pay special attention to each and every one of them.
While he loved traveling to Europe and other places with Shirley, his favorite place to be was at home sitting on the dock, working in his wood shop, gardening, or reading. You rarely saw him without a book.
He had beautiful vegetable gardens and built so many things in his “Shop” where his friends would stop by and spend time with him.
People were drawn to Jon’s mellow personality, his great gift of knowledge and sharing interesting conversations with him.
Jon was loved by all. He brought smiles to everyone’s face and left a lasting impression on them.
Jon is predeceased by his father, mother, two brothers and his grandmother. Jon is survived by his wife, Shirley and daughter, Jeannie, many cats and two goats.
Jon and Shirley recently celebrated their 44th Anniversary. Their marriage was like a Fairy Tale.
He will be missed by all who knew him.
In lieu of flowers please donate to the Jacksonville Humane Society or No More Homeless Pets.
Fraser Funeral Home
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