Tom Taylor, retired Air Force Veteran, passed away Sunday, January 22, 2023, in his home in Hondo, Texas.

He was a well-known member of the Hondo area community.

Born August 30, 1946, in Beaumont, he was the son of Morris Pascal Taylor and Berneice Johnson Taylor.

His love of flying was his favorite avocation as well as his vocation.  He began teaching others to fly at the age of 16. Tom was an active ham radio operator and a member of the local MCARC radio club and also belonged to the Beaumont Texas ham radio club, BARC. He was very active with the Civil Air Patrol, both in Beaumont and San Antonio areas. Tom was a simulator instructor at Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio. He graduated from Louisiana Tech with a Master's in Finance.

His broad range of skills and interests included being an excellent woodworker with the capacity to build just about anything he put his mind to create. Tom loved to talk with people and became a Certified Texas Auctioneer for  several years.  In addition to his lifelong interest in flying, Tom also took up an avid interest in sailing, owning several  sailboats over the years and becoming a member of the Del Rio Yacht Club while working at Laughlin AFB. A great joke teller, he will be missed by all.

He is preceded in death by his parents and sister, Laura Taylor McMurray.  Surviving are his wife of 22 years, Mary Lee Haines Taylor, son Robert Pascal Taylor of Beaumont, Texas, daughter Lisa Autry Trevino of Kenedy, Texas and grandson, Aaron Ray Trevino of Victoria, Texas

Memorial service will be at 1:00 p.m., Jan. 27, 2023, at First United Methodist Church in Hondo.

Memorials may be made to St. Jude's Memorial Hospital located in Memphis, TN, 501 St Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or donate online to stjude.org.