James W. Taylor

James W. Taylor, 92, of Westfield, passed away on March 23, 2011, in Wilmington, Delaware, embraced by the love of his family. Mr. Taylor was raised in the Missouri River valley of North Dakota, on what had been an open-range horse ranch established by his grandfather circa 1885. In 1936 he began a degree in Industrial Management at North Dakota Agricultural College, transferring to Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) after his sophomore year. He graduated with a B.S. and later went on to become a life trustee. After graduating in 1940, he went to work for the Allison Division of General Motors, building engines for Curtiss P-40 fighter planes used in World War II. In 1951, after a stint with Westinghouse as a consultant, he joined the consulting firm of Booz, Allen and Hamilton in New York City. He left that firm to become president of Bradford Computer and Systems in 1973. In 1978, Mr. Taylor began his own consulting business, working with clients such as Williams-Sonoma, Heublein, and R. Hoe and Company. On June 5, 1940, he married Mary Lou Crago in Elkton, Maryland. In 1948 they moved to Westfield, where they raised their family. He was active in Boy Scout Troop 172, teaching many scouts to cook over a campfire, and was awarded the Silver Beaver award for service in the Watchung BSA Council. He also was a member of the Y's Men and the Presbyterian Church of Westfield. He loved to hunt and fish, taking numerous trips to North Dakota and Canada. In his later years, he developed a fondness for watching baseball on television. His collection of autobiographical anecdotes, Painted Woods to Park Avenue, was published in 2002 by Vantage Press. Anyone who wonders what it was like to grow up in North Dakota during the depression and experience the New York of "Mad Men" would be intrigued by his story. He wore his cowboy boots to all family weddings and graduations. Mary Lou, his wife of nearly 70 years, preceded him in death in April, 2010. He is survived by his four children, Stephen C. Taylor of Boston; Dianne T. Whittaker (Larry) of Wilmington, Delaware; Patricia A. Taylor of Longmont, Colorado; and David J. Taylor (Marijo) of Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Five grandchildren also survive him: Jesse L. Salisbury-Turner (Toni) of Brooklyn; Katherine T. Turner of Denver; and Rebecca L. Taylor, Anna K. Taylor, and Christopher J. Taylor of Emmaus, Pennsylvania.