Hi everyone
Just let you know that John Taylor passed last evening. He was with our company for over 55 years and recently retired.
He was one of the last true draftsmen who hand-drew beautiful construction plans and details. And young engineers like I were afraid to correct his plans with red pens. Later, he joined our leadership team when we were evolving from a single Sacramento office. He even project-managed a large, critical client like Kikkoman which impacted how we advanced as a company today. He wanted to know each of us personally and often traveled to LA or OC to join picnics and parties. He always had jokes, but it was same old John Wayne impersonation. He was a volunteering at Sacramento Train Museum for many years. When my family and I visited him, he always popped out with a funny train engineer’s cap. He was the first person to visit when my first daughter was born with big smile and hug. I was a horrible engineer in my first years, but he was always there to defend me from getting fired. He even taught me how to hand-draft so I could stay afloat. Without him, our lives will be completely different today. JT was a good friend and a father figure to me and many of us.
Yesterday, I was fortunate to be there with his sons when he passed.
It was a very peaceful moment. We cried but we also laughed about his funny moments which were plenty.
He was always like that. Everyday, he made people laugh.