JUDGE RICHARD H. C. TAYLOR

Hanover County has lost one of her most distinguished and revered sons.  On Tuesday, August 13, 2002, Richard Henry Cardwell Taylor, 72, retired Judge of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, died at his home in Hanover, Virginia.  Judge Taylor was appointed to the bench by Governor Mills Godwin in 1977 and served with distinction until his retirement in 1999.

For many generations, a member of the Taylor family presided at the Hanover Courthouse.  Judge Taylor's appointment to the Circuit Bench continued this tradition.  He sat at the historic Hanover Courthouse, built in 1735, where the walls are lined with the portraits of many of Judge Taylor's forebears: his great-grandfather Richard Henry Cardwell, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia; his great-great-great uncle Judge Samuel Cornelius Redd; his uncles Clarence Woolfolk Taylor, Clerk of the Court from 1907 to 1955, and Francis Adams Taylor, Clerk of the Court from 1955 to 1969; and his great-grandfather, John Robert Taylor, also Clerk of the Circuit Court of Hanover from 1869 to 1875.  Judge Taylor grew up immersed in history and within a tradition that prized public service. 

Judge Taylor practiced law with the firm of McCaul, Grigsby and Pearsall of Richmond until his appointment to the bench. He practiced in all areas of law, but with a primary focus on real estate law.  He served on Governor Godwin's Committee on the Employment of the Handicapped.  In 1968, he served as Coordinator of Virginians for the Bond Issue, a dramatic departure from a "pay-as-you-go" policy that hampered state growth.  It was this grass-roots political effort that resulted in the establishment of Virginia's community college system, an achievement that has been of immense value to a multitude of current and future Virginians and an accomplishment of which Judge Taylor was extremely proud. 

During his years on the bench, Judge Taylor steered through the complexities of justice with austerity, but also with the very human qualities of integrity and honesty.  He executed the law with great intelligence, insight, and discernment.

Known to his family and close friends as "Dickie", the Judge was born July 28, 1930, in Richmond, the son of Howard Winston Taylor and Mary Ann Hutchinson Taylor. He attended Hanover County Public Grammar School and was Senior Class President at Henry Clay High School, both in Ashland, Virginia.  He graduated with a major in history from Randolph- Macon College (1952) where he received four varsity letters for his backstroke on the swim team.  He was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order.  He earned the LL.B. in 1955 from the T.C. Williams School of Law of the University of Richmond.

From 1977 to 1979, Dick served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association and was a recipient of the American Heart Association's highest award, the Gold Heart. He was also Chairman of the Board of the Virginia Heart Association.  It was during his involvement with the American Heart Association that he met his future wife, Sue.

For most of his adult life, Dick was active in the Jaycees and many of his closest friendships and political alliances were made during this time.  He was President of the Virginia Jaycees and was a National Director of the Jaycees and was named as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of America.

Dick was full of pride and affection for the people of Hanover County.  He provided leadership within his community as Chairman of the Hanover County Democratic Committee, President of the Hanover Chapter of the American Cancer Society, Kiwanis member, and as Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America. He was a founding member of the 2300 Club and the Hanover Country Club and served as President of the Richmond Area Alumni Association of the Kappa Alpha Order.  His lifelong passion for studying history explains his active role in the Hanover County Chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, the Historic Richmond Foundation, and the Hanover Historical Society. 

He was a life-long member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Hanover where he filled numerous roles including those of Senior Warden and organist.  In addition, Dick served the Diocese of Virginia as Chairman of the Program and Budget Committee, the Constitution and Canons Committee, and the Steering Committee.  He was also President of the Standing Committee.  On the national level, Dick served as the Deputy to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church of United States and was a member of the State of the Church Committee and the Committee on Amendments to the Constitution.

As witnessed by the many people in these various civic and church organizations with whom he came in contact, Dick had a keen, but quiet, interest in his community and rendered many years of valuable service to the residents of Hanover County and Virginia.  His ancestors whose portraits hang in the old Hanover Courthouse would not have been disappointed with this Taylor son.  In their tradition, he was an esteemed jurist and community activist of whom they would be proud.

On a personal level, Dick was known as a scholar, sailor, poet, historian, genealogist, and pianist.  He had a very gentle nature, but also possessed a keen dry wit which, when paired with his musical ability, resulted in a fairly raucous vaudeville routine.  His stories and anecdotes, some true and some questionable, entertained many.  His selection as godfather to Ann Curtis Palmore DeFazio, Sarah Dawson Brooks, and William Austin Brooks gives credence to the high esteem in which Dick was held.  For these children, for his nieces and nephews, and for young neighbors, their "Uncle Dick" has provided an excellent role model and expert guidance.

To all, Dick was the epitome of a Virginia gentleman.  Physically, he was a small man.  But to all who came into contact with him, it was a gratifying discovery to find what a big, in every sense of the word, man Dick Taylor was.

Dick is survived by his wife of 17 years, Sue Byrom Stephens Taylor, of Hanover.  His three sisters, Anne Spotswood Taylor Montague of Richmond, Elizabeth Keith Taylor Palmore of Ashland, and Mary Howard Taylor Noland of Charlotte, N.C, survive him as does his mother-in-law, Marie Morris Stephens of Dallas, Texas.  Dick is preceded in death by his parents and his one brother, Howard Winston Taylor, Jr.

Judge Taylor's family will receive visitors on Friday, August 16, from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. at Reid Funeral Home in Ashland.  A memorial service will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Hanover, Virginia on August 17 at 2:00 P.M. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that memorial contributions be made to the Judge Richard Henry Cardwell Taylor Scholarship Fund, to provide aid for future students from Hanover County, at Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Virginia 23005. 

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