In Memory of Rev. Todd Taylor ((February 23, 1929 – February 15, 2023)
We offer our condolences to the family and colleagues of the Rev. Todd James Taylor, who died on February 15, 2023, at the age of 93.
Todd was born on February 23, 1929, to Wannie Lee Taylor and Clare Strong. A native of Johnstown, PA, he went to Johnstown Central High School, received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Allegheny College, PA in 1951, and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree from Boston University, MA in 1955. Thereafter, he pursued his career serving the Unitarian Universalist denomination.
Rev. Todd was ordained by the Channing Unitarian Church, Rockland, MA on November 6, 1955, where he served from 1954 to 1958, leading a fund drive that resulted in the new RE building. In 1958, he accepted a call from All Peoples Church UU, Fort Worth, TX. He ministered at the Fort Worth church for four and a half years, helped the church grow, built up strong bonds of confidence and association, and added an education building. Subsequently, from 1963 to 1967, he served the UUA Extension department as a Fellowship Consultant traveling much of the United States producing program materials for Fellowships, organizing new Fellowships, and leading workshops.
In 1967, Rev. Taylor was called to the UU Church of Sarasota, FL. He remarkably designed programs that attracted young families and gathered the largest youth group in the state. His effective ministerial leadership enabled the entire congregation to grow as a caring and concerned community. In 1970, Rev. Taylor responded to the UUA’s request to consider an IDR (Interdistrict Representative) position for the Southeastern United States. He served for twelve years as a generalist in church and Fellowship life, conducted leadership training, fundraising seminars, adult programming, and mediating crisis situations.
From 1982 to 1987, he was a settled minister at the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque, NM. His ministry added several new areas to the church’s institutional life and ministry including a Social Concerns Committee, Care Committee, Ministerial Relations Committee, staff pension and medical coverage, and an endowment fund. In 1987, Rev. Taylor retired from his full-time ministry yet even after his retirement, he continued his services as a consulting minister to the Lakeland Florida Fellowship (1991) and co-director at the Pines, a Unitarian Universalist Retreat Center in Brooksville, FL (1991-1992).
Throughout his ministerial career, Rev. Taylor provided spiritual leadership to his congregants. One of his outstanding virtues was his ability to maintain friendly relationships with every member of his congregation. He was also equally active in denominational affairs serving as UUA Staff Assistant to the UUA Committee on Congregational Polity (1965) and to the UUA Committee on Goals (1966-1967). In addition, he sat on the board of the Southeast District of the UUA (1968-1969).
Similarly, Todd participated in outreach organizations serving underprivileged populations around the world. He was co-chair of Citizens for Crime Prevention, Fort Worth, TX (1960) and a member of the NAACP bi-racial team to integrate department store lunch counters, in Fort Worth (1962). In Florida, he served as a board member of the Sarasota County Anti-Poverty Program and the American Civil Liberties Union. Likewise in New Mexico, he was a member of the Task Force on Refugees, New Mexico Conference of Churches, and a Member of the Ministerial Alliance, Albuquerque.
He had a deep passion for writing, especially poetry, and self-published two volumes of original poems in 2019 and 2022. His research paper “Locating Potential New Members in Metropolitan Areas (1965)” was published by the UUA. In his leisure time, he enjoyed tennis, canoeing, hiking, reading, weaving, and choral singing.
Todd is survived by his wife and beloved companion, Caroline Fenderson, of Palm Harbor, FL, a retired Unitarian Universalist Minister of Religious Education. Todd is also survived by his three adult children, Wannie Lee (Sonny, d. 2022), Todd Eliot (Allison), and Jenai Ann (Alan), their mother, Rev. Carol Ann (Marine) Taylor, and two grandchildren, Katie Taylor, and Will Taylor. He also leaves three stepdaughters, Jenifer Valingo, Georgia Atkinson, and Michele Marcon, and their partners and children. Todd was preceded in death by his parents, five siblings – Wannie, George, Richard, Natalie, and Frederick – and his loving and devoted wife of forty years, Carolyn Ford Taylor (d. 2014).
Todd will be interred with Carolyn in the Memorial Wall and Cinerarium at First Unitarian Church, Albuquerque, NM. The family is planning a private service.
In lieu of flowers, memorials, and donations can be sent to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee,www.uusc.org.
Notes of condolence can be sent to Caroline Fenderson, 29 Freshwater Drive, Palm Harbor, FL 34684.