The Very Rev. Walter H. Taylor Passed away on Dec. 2, 2017. He was 79-years-old, and a resident of Lenox, Mass.
Walt was born in Cincinnati and was raised there, along with Massachusetts and Georgia. He majored in History at Kenyon, and served as president of his freshman and junior classes, as co-editor of the Collegian, and as a member of the Appeals Board and the Panhellenic Council. He joined Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, which elected him its president for his junior and senior years. He earned his degree Magna Cum Laude, with high honors in his major, and won election to Phi Betta Kappa.
After graduation, Walt went on to receive a master of divinity degree, with honors, from Virginia Theological Seminary. He was later awarded an honorary doctorate in divinity from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University.
Walt began his ministerial career as asssitant rector of Christ Church in Cincinnati. followed by the rectorships of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Oxford, OH; Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbus, OH; and St. Luke’s Parish in Darien, Connecticut. He concluded his professional career as the dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, from which e retired in 1999.
According to an obituary in the Darien Times, Walt’s church leadership “focused on pastoral care and creating a supportive church community in which lay leaders were empowered to act and be successful in their ministry.” His significant contributions included a commitment to urban ministry and social justice while in Columbus. In Darien, he was renowned for his work with “Person-to Person,” a social-service organization within St. Luke’s Parish, his involvement in helping to revitalize St. Luke’s Community Services in Stamford, CT, and his leadership in helping to establish the Stuart McKinney House, the first AIDS residence in the state of Connecticut. In Houston, he helped with the creation of New Hope Housing, a pioneering effort to use single-room-occupancy housing coupled with intensive counseling and employment support services to solve chronic homelessness.
In retirement, Walt lived in Lenox as well as in Key West, FL. Still active, he served as a consultant for Episcopal Health Charities at Houston’s St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital for the Episcopal Church Pension Fund. He also helped with conferences designed to help Episcopal clergy plan and prepare for retirement and took on a part-time position as “winter associate” at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Key West.
Walt is survived by his wife of 57 years, Mary Wilson Taylor; his sons, William W. Taylor ’85 (who is married to Jennifer Luce Taylor ’85) and Peter H. Taylor ’88; four grandchildren, including Allyson Taylor ’14; and a Brother, Robert Taylor.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice Care in the Berkshires, 877 South ST. Pittsfield, Mass 01201