CURTIS WYLIE TAYLOR
April 2, 1938 – Feb. 27, 2023
A memorial for Curtis Wylie Taylor, 84, of Hartselle was held at Peck Funeral Home on Saturday, March 11, 2023 at 11 a.m. Directly following the memorial, a graveside service an interment was held at the Hartselle City Cemetery.
Mr. Taylor, who died Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, was born April 2, 1938, to Archibald Richard Taylor and Virginia Dare Taylor (née Murphy) in Greenville. Mr. Taylor grew up in Greenville and graduated from Greenville High School. Upon receiving a Walter O. Parmer Scholarship, he attended Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelors of Science. He also attended the University of Virginia where he specialized in procurement and contracts management.
Mr. Taylor earned a commission as a lieutenant in the United States Army. He served two years active duty with the 5th Missile Battalion 517th Artillery where he excelled as a sharpshooter, and an additional 6 years in various reserve and National Guard units.
Mr. Taylor worked for IBM for 28 years in Huntsville, and Manassas, Va., on the Saturn space program, Navy sonar programs, early stages of the Global Positioning System Program, and also the Tomahawk Missile Program, serving as Manager of Major Subcontracts, and retiring in 1993. He then worked for Lockheed Martin in Portsmouth, United Kingdom, and Huntsville, for eight years as Subcontract Manager on the Air Traffic Management program and deployment of a European helicopter program for the UK. In addition, Mr. Taylorworked with the NASA space program in the US among other military programs. Most recently, he worked for Intergraph Corporation in Huntsville, until 2017, continuing his subcontract management career in commercial and military programs.
While living at Manassas, Va., Mr. Taylor was an officer in the Jaycees, a member of the local barber shop singing group, and was appointed to the Manassas Historical Society where he became chairman and was instrumental in creating The Manassas Museum Associates, a 501c (3) organization, to financially support the museum and develop local sites of historical significance for Manassas, Va., and the surrounding area. He was active in the planning, development and installation of the Jenny Dean Memorial.
Mr. Taylor was also the chairman of the board of deacons and a member of the session of the Greenwich Presbyterian Church in Nokesville, Va., He served for years on the session of the First Presbyterian Church in Hartselle.
Mr. Taylor enjoyed rooting for the Washington Redskins, Alabama’s college football teams, and his alma mater, Vanderbilt. During the 60’s he was an avid drag racer of Ford Falcons, which he creatively modified with his racing partner, Ray Bryan. Later in life he enjoyed attending classic car shows with his friends. Mr. Taylor was especially fond of Ford Mustangs. His first Mustang was a 1965 high performance Mustang coupe, and his last was the all-electric Mustang of 2023. A charitable man, he was also a supporter of the Presbyterian Home for Children in Talladega.
Mr. Taylor is survived by his wife, Brenda Powell Taylor (née Frazier), whom he met in Hartselle in 1966 and married in 1967, and two daughters; Elizabeth Bree Taylor Dever of Foster, R.I., and Katharine Dare Taylor Selvidge of Hartselle. Mr. Taylor has one grandson, Luke Taylor Selvidge, and one granddaughter, Sophia Maria Rain Selvidge, of Decatur.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Mr. Taylor’s name to his favorite charity, the Presbyterian Home for Children https://phfc.org/donate/.