RICHARD (DICK) FOY TAYLOR

A PERSONAL HISTORY

DICK BORN IN ATCHISON, KANSAS

Dick was born July 4, 1913 in Atchison, Kansas, the third son and seventh child of Edward Jackson and Eva Levine Foy Taylor.

DICK HAS STARTED SCHOOL IN SALIDA, COLORADO

By the time Dick was old enough to start school the family had moved to Salida, Colorado. He attended school there until he was seven. The altitude in Salida was too high for his mother so they moved to Salt Lake in 1920.

DICK AND HIS FAMILY MOVED TO SALT LAKE CITY

The family moved several time in Salt Lake before they bought the home at 1497 Van Buren Avenue.

DICK ATTENDED AND GRADUATED FROM SALT LAKE SCHOOLS

Dick attended Webster and Washington schools while the family was moving around. After they were at 1497 he went to Edison, Jordan Jr. and graduated from West High on January 16, 1931.

DICK'S FRIENDS WERE MORMONS

The neighborhood around Van Buren Avenue was all German and Dutch converts, so most of his growing up friends were Mormons. He played basketball with the ward team when they needed more players.

DICK WORKED ON BOULDER DAM

After high school Dick went to Nevada to work at Boulder Dam where his two older brothers were working. He worked at several different jobs there. One was high scaling, where you hang on a rope while you set powder int he mountain to blow part of it away. Another job was running the boat to get the workers across the lake to work. He worked at Boulder about three years.

OTHER WORK AND THE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD

After he left Boulder he worked in the mines in Kingman, Arizona, then he went to Truckee and worked int he lumber for a summer. When a heavy snow came early, Dick decided it was time to come back to Salt Lake. Here he worked at anything he could get until he landed a job as a switchman for the Union Pacific Railroad. He worked there just under forty years.

THE JR OLD TIMERS CLUB

The railroad sponsored the Jr. Old Timers Club for the younger workers. Dick was active in it as a board member, secretary and a term as president. We went to the conventions and trips the club had, sometimes staying in hotels and other times staying in the rail cars. We had some good trips with them.

DICK SERVED IN THE UNION

Dick was president of his union for one term and was president of the Brotherhood's Relief and compensation Fund organization for a term.

In 1956 Dick completed a course about Railway Labor Problems at the University of Utah.

In 1978 he served on the jury for three months.

DICK'S CONVERSION AND BAPTISM INTO THE CHURCH

The Taylor family didn't belong to any church. Several times the missionaries came and gave Dick the lessons but he always had a good reason not to be baptized at that time.

For years Dick spent a lot of his evenings at the Harold B Lee Hall and Jordan Park working in athletics wit the young men of the ward and stake. At that time they had All-Church games and Dick helped with them for several years.

After he retired from work he started going to church with me and soon asked the Bishop for a recommend to be baptized but told him not to tell anyone. He didn't want a big thing made of it and he knew there would be if people int he ward and family knew. He was baptized December 23, 1976, by Lee Meads and confirmed by Bishop Ed Brown. I was there and the Bishopric and one couple from the ward. Dick let the family know he had been baptized by saying since he was the newest member of the church he would bless the food Christmas Day. He was ordained a Priest January 2, 1997, and Elder December 18, 1977 and a High Priest September 18, 1983.

DICK SERVED AS A HOME TEACHER UNTIL HIS DEATH

Dick was a Home Teacher from the time he received the priesthood until he died.

DICK'S MOTHER BORN ON AN INDIAN RESERVATION

I thought it would be interesting to add to Dick's history that his Mother was born on the Nemaha Indian Reservation, Aspinall, Nebraska, as were her nine brothers and sisters. His Great Grandmother was a full blooded Otoe Indian of the Cherokee Nation.