The late Vivian (left) and Lula Taylor
A long-time member of the Jamestown Community who spent his life serving the public has passed away.
Former Jamestown City Councilman Vivian Taylor passed away Wednesday morning at UPMC Chautauqua. He was 94 years old.
Taylor was born in the segregated south of North Carolina. According to the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, he attended Stillman Institute in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, before being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943. During World War II, he served in the European Theater of Operations until 1945, receiving various medals and battle stars. After the Army, he attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and would later go on to earn a degree from SUNY Fredonia in the 1970s.
In his professional life, he spent over 30 years working at Marlin Rockwell in Jamestown. After marrying his late wife Lula in August 1950, the couple moved to Jamestown, and Vivian immediately immersed himself in a lifestyle of community service.
Over his life in Chautauqua County, he has compiled an impressive resume: 24 years as a City of Jamestown councilman; board member for the Lucile M. Wright Air Museum; board member for the Senior Citizens Center; Jamestown Civil Air Patrol Senior Squadron member; former member of Chautauqua Region Family Services; commissioner for the Boy Scouts; and member of the YMCA’s “Y’s Men.”
Awards he has received include: the Dewitt Clinton Award, which is awarded by the Masonic Lodge for community service, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Award, and being named to the Who’s Who Among Black Americans.
The Taylors were the recipients of the CRCF’s John D. Hamilton Community Service Award in 2007.
Lula Taylor passed away earlier this year in March.
Funeral arrangements for Vivian Taylor will be announced by the Lind Funeral Home.
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