John Joseph Taylor

John Joseph Taylor (JT) took his last earthly breath on April 14, 2023, and entered his heavenly home. Surely, he had to use the backdoor, as much of his 60 years was filled with a great deal of mischief and shenanigans – which may be hard to explain! He was willing to try anything – which made him everyone’s “Mikey”, and never missed an opportunity to make people laugh. He struggled with dementia for nearly 10 years, and although he put up an incredible fight, he was just plain tired.

John was born on September 8, 1962, with such serious medical problems that he was not expected to survive. At less than a year old, he was given last rights, but he fought hard for every day he was given. It was that incredible fighting spirit that sustained him through the rest of his life. He remained healthy all his life until – he wasn’t.

He got engaged to Audrey Lafler on their second date, and they were married for 39 years. He never failed to make her laugh, even if she was mad at him about something. They never had any children, instead sharing their home with 15 dogs and 4 cats over the years.

John had many amazing life-long friends, and he was a stead-fast friend to so many. If anyone needed help, he was the first - and last - call they made. He would drop whatever he was doing to help a friend in need, and then share a beer with you when the job was complete. He was a jack-of-all trades and master of all. There was nothing he couldn’t fix with a paperclip and duct tape or improve with “just a little more horsepower”.

John was never one to sit still for very long. He had many hobbies including radio control airplanes, building cars, boats, and motorcycles, repairing clocks, landscaping, woodworking, collecting Zippo lighters, and doing puzzles. But by far his favorite was working on cars, trucks, and motorcycles. He loved his tools – and loved using them!

He retired from PG&E in 2018 after 34 years of service, and he and Audrey moved to Millville, CA, where they planned on spending their golden years. He loved building things and riding around the property on one of his tractors. But as his dementia progressed, it became difficult to manage the property without considerable help. That, and the serious lack of sufficient medical care in the area, motivated them to move to Portland, OR in the summer of 2022. He loved the cooler summers, the rain and snow, and spent a lot of time in the yard doing puzzles and enjoying nature. It was a blessing having family a mile away that could help at a moment’s notice.

As if Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia (bvFTD) wasn’t enough, he was diagnosed with ALS in December 2022, and that was a real blow. Although auto-immune diseases often run together with dementia, it was a difficult diagnosis to swallow. The muscles in his arms and legs were constantly firing off, giving him little relief even when sleeping. But he never complained about any of it. Not even when it became difficult to swallow...

Although he managed to complete most everything on his bucket list, the one thing he did not get to do was visit all the civil war battlefields and historical landmarks. He loved American civil war history and could rattle off details that would impress anyone who would listen. So, Audrey has decided that in lieu of a service, she will be taking John’s ashes on a traveling funeral. A road trip through the south so that he can finally visit the places that he always wanted to go.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Frances (Mulligan) Taylor, sister Mary (Taylor) Harlis, brother Arthur Taylor, and 13 of his beloved dogs. He is survived by his wife, Audrey (Lafler) Taylor, sisters Chris (Taylor) Washaowich and Anita (Taylor) Jordan, brother William Taylor, and several nieces and nephews.

Anyone who wants to do so, please post a memory you have of John to share. Having said that, some memories come to mind that, even though they are funny and no one was hurt, (seriously, anyway) – they might not be appropriate for all readers. So please keep it clean! ;0)

If you is interested in making a donation in memory of John, you can do so at the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. Their website is www.theaftd.org. It is only through research dollars that a cure for this devastating disease will be found. Or, make a donation to another charity that is near and dear to your heart.