Harry Owen Taylor

Harry O. Taylor Son, brother, father, grandfather, uncle, cousin, friend, teammate, coach, mentor, colleague, beloved . . . Harry Owen Taylor invested his life in others and is a loved, well-respected man in every phase of his life. Harry was born August 10, 1943, in Pittsburg, Kansas, to Henry and Vessie Lee Hannah Taylor. He was raised alongside his brother, Winston and sister, Faye by their grandmother, Rose Woolridge Taylor, when his mother passed away. He is still close with friends from grade school and high school, missing only one reunion due to hospitalization. After graduating from Pittsburg High School in 1961, he pursued football scholarships to help him earn his Associate of Arts degree from Garden City Community College in 1964. He then went on to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science in 1968 and then his Masters in College Student Personnel and Guidance in 1972 at Emporia State University (ESU). One of the first African-Americans hired at Missouri State University (MSU), Harry spent over 26 years shepherding students through their college experience as an academic advisor at MSU, where he also taught student success classes and was instrumental in helping to implement the University’s Black History Month celebrations and the University’s Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR) sessions. Following his stint of coaching inter-collegiate football while at ESU and MSU, he became an passionate supporter of women’s collegiate sports during his time at MSU, Harry recruited, coached and supported a variety of women’s sports, including basketball and women’s intermural football. Upon retiring from MSU, Harry loved people so much that he returned to work as an adult case manager at Pathways Community Behavioral Healthcare for the remaining 13 years of his career. If you gave him five minutes, Harry became invested in your life--whether you were on one of his teams, his wife’s student, a hotel clerk, or a server in a restaurant. A passionate advocate for people on the margins, one of Harry’s favorite quotes was, “Take what you have with what you are, make something of it, and never be satisfied,” a sentiment he used to help shape the lives of his children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and the thousands of individuals he supported during his long career as an academic advisor to college students and as a community social worker. When he wasn’t spending time with family or mentoring the countless individuals who came into his life, Harry played competitive softball well into his 50’s or he would be on the creek bank fishing. He appreciated all types of music but most certainly his favorite was listening to smooth jazz. Always an avid sports fan he enjoyed his OU Sooners and the Kansas City Royals games and certainly he was delighted to see his Royals win the World Series in 2015. Harry is survived by his wife of 17+ years, Debra; his children, Renee Taylor Tyms, Teresa Taylor Williams, Amanda Marie Taylor and Rev. Sarah Lowenberg; his grandchildren, Trent Taylor, Marcus Williams, Terin Williams, Kevin Tyms and Melisa Lowenberg, his grandson by choice, Rev. Dan Reed and great-grandson Isaiah Anderson-Taylor, along with numerous nephews and nieces; and the many students and community members he assisted during his long career. A service of Thanksgiving for the life of Harry Taylor is planned for Saturday, March 11, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. at South Haven Baptist Church, 16800 Bel-Ray Blvd., Belton, MO 64012. Attendees are asked to wear either crimson and cream (OU colors) or KC Royals colors. A reception will follow. In lieu of flowers/plants we request donations in Harry’s memory to Street Medicine KC. Kindly mark gifts with Harry’s name. There are no measures for the blessings we receive. Only by imagining how our lives might have gone if they had not come to us, can we begin to appreciate their brilliance and power. True love is such a blessing – if you found it may you always know it as the wondrous gift it is. Epiphany by Robert Sexton

Harry Owen Taylor

August 10, 1943 - January 25, 2017