William Alexander "Bill" Taylor Junior

Taylor Machine Works' board chairman and former president William Alexander "Bill" Taylor Junior, 76, died at his home in Louisville, Mississippi, on November 22.

Taylor, born on February 17, 1931, was the son of Ruby Leon Turner and William A Taylor Senior, who founded Taylor Machine Works in 1927.

Taylor attended Mississippi College and Mississippi State University. He served in the US Air Force during the Korean conflict and later joined the family business. He was board chairman of The Taylor Group Inc and its subsidiaries, Taylor Machine Works, Sudden Service, Taylor Power Products, Taylor Environment Products, Taylor Machine Tools Corp, Taylor Precision Industries and Taylor Rail Group.

One of Taylor's significant contributions was a parts catalogue that became the cornerstone of Taylor Machine Works' parts and service department. He assumed leadership of the company when his father died in May 1968. In 1993, his eldest son Lex Taylor took over as Taylor Machine Works president but Taylor continued serving as board chairman until he died.

He is survived by his wife, Mitzi Metts Taylor, daughter Teresa Ktsanes, sons Lex Taylor and Robert Taylor and seven grandchildren.

The funeral service was held on November 25 at First Baptist Church, Louisville.

Information from The Taylor Group website and The Clarion-Ledger. To sign the guest book for WA "Bill" Taylor, go to: www.legacy.com/ClarionLedger/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=98491681