Robert W. (Bob) Taylor, Sr. peacefully departed this life on June 27, 2022 at the age of 92. Known as Bobby as a youngster, he was born in Leesburg, FL, and was raised in Sunnyside on the shores of Lake Harris. He grew up during the Great Depression, which strongly influenced his attitudes about hard work and the value of a dollar. He was a lifelong resident of Leesburg, graduating from Leesburg HS in 1948. Bob lived in the same house for 72 years, 65 of those with his high school sweetheart and the love of his life, Janet, who he lost in 2014. He is survived by 3 children; Bob (Pam), Nancy Trumbull (Tex), and David (Cathy); 7 grandchildren; and 9 great-grandchildren.
He set a wonderful example for his family, exhibiting exceptional personal values and characteristics that positively influenced everyone who came in contact with him. Family activities were important to Bob, Janet, and their young family, with many hours spent together on camping trips, vacations, holidays and birthday parties, and outdoor activities. He had a well-deserved reputation for thriftiness, having things last well beyond their expected lifetime, and repairing almost anything when it began to wear out. One of Bob’s greatest accomplishments was his 65-year career as a volunteer blood donor. His whole blood donations over that time totaled almost 42 gallons, a level of donation rarely attained by anyone. He even had a sample of his blood fly on the Space Shuttle!
Bob was also always a hard worker who liked nothing more than staying busy with numerous projects. He was a self-taught expert on numerous subjects related to construction, cars, machinery, antique clocks, furniture-making, electronics repair, and many others. Bring something broken to him and he could probably figure out how to fix it. He also built his shop building and made 2 large additions to the house, mostly by himself. He famously built a wooden boat using only hand tools in 1956, and used that boat as recently as 2022 to fish on Lake Harris. He also loved growing things; over the years he produced many crops of figs, guavas, and pineapples that were planted around the house.
He started work early in life, walking from home to the Sunnyside Fernery as a 9-year old. He worked there until graduating from high school. He spent his entire professional working career at only one job . . . 35 years at the Leesburg Fire Department (1950-1985), including the last 16 years at Chief. He retired at the early age of 55, which enabled him to essentially have a second career as a retiree. He was proud to say that he spent more time in retirement (37 years) than he did at the Fire Department!
Saying that Bob enjoyed hunting and fishing would be an understatement! As a barefoot elementary-schooler, he scoured Sunnyside with his single-shot .410 shotgun looking for unlucky squirrels. He brought them home, cleaned them, and turned them over to his mother to cook. As an adult, he hunted a wide variety of game in Florida, Georgia, Wyoming, and other parts of the country. Bob and Janet made many trips to visit friends and hunting camps in Pennsylvania and South Carolina, as well as 3 moose-hunting trips to Canada. He fished Central Florida’s lakes and the Gulf of Mexico consistently throughout his entire life, focusing on largemouth bass and speckled perch. But his favorite activity, by far, was turkey hunting. For many decades, he was in the woods at every opportunity seeking the wary birds. When not hunting them, he liked nothing better than talking to others about his experiences. If you have ever seen Bob’s “game room” you can appreciate his love of the outdoors!
Bob was a great parent and a talented individual that any person would be lucky to know. He will be sorely missed by everyone.
Bob’s Family will welcome Friends from 4:00 to 5:00 pm on July 8, 2022 at the Leesburg Boating Club, with a celebratory reception to immediately follow. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Cornerstone Hospice of Lake County.