Obituary of Russell C. Taylor

Russell C. (Jack) Taylor, MD passed Sunday December 14, 2008 at his home after a long illness. Jack was born in Dobson, North Carolina on April 23, 1937. His family moved to Mount Airy, North Carolina when he was five years old. He attended grammar and high school in Mount Airy and upon graduating; he worked for one year for a patent medicine company as a traveling salesman along with his father. He graduated from Lees McRae College and then graduated from Davidson College. After graduating from the University of North Carolina Medical School at Chapel Hill in the top 10 % of his class, he did an internship and two years residency at the University of Colorado Medical Center in Denver Colorado. He moved back to North Carolina and was chief resident of internal medicine at Charlotte Memorial Hospital from 1967 to 1968 afterwards; he moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed a two-year fellowship in nephrology. He began practice in internal medicine at Cannon Memorial Hospital in Banner Elk for three years and then moved to Boone where he practiced until July 2007 when his illness forced him to retire. He was the first Medical Director of the Kidney Dialysis Center which was established in 1989 due in large part to his dedication and drive to provide such clinical services to the region. He is preceded in death by his parents Everette L. Taylor, Sr. and Malissa Hill Taylor and by three brothers E.L. Taylor, Jr. MD, Robert E. Lee Taylor and Larry Don Taylor. He is survived by his wife Terry Taylor, and his sister Ann Taylor of Hertford, North Carolina. He is also survived by beloved nieces and nephews, Mark A. Taylor and wife Lou Ann and son Stephen of Morehead City; Mary T. Transou and husband Hal and daughter Haley and son Tyler of State Road; J. Bryan Taylor and wife Lynn and daughter Lauren and sons James and Tate of Wilmington; Robert M. Taylor and wife Luisa and daughters Manuela, Melanie, Melissa and Mia of Miami; Nancy C. Taylor of Mount Airy; Theresa T. Gray and husband Brian and son Austin and daughter Abbey of Richmond. He is also survived by his beloved step-sons Andrew Harkey and Edward Dill and his daughter Sullivan along with sister-in-law Tonda Taylor and partner Janice Coulter; and brother-in-law Andrew Taylor and wife Dr. Susan Lupo and their children, Dustin Taylor and wife Jennifer and their child Kate; and daughter Robin Belk and her husband Jake, all from Charlotte. A memorial service will be held in the chapel of Austin and Barnes Funeral Home in Boone on Tuesday, December 16th at 2:00 pm. Chaplain Melanie Childers will officiate. The family will greet friends and family after the service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Western Youth Network, 155 Wyn Way, Boone, or the Watauga Animal Shelter, 200 Casey Lane, Boone, NC 28607 . Austin & Barnes Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the Taylor family.