George Andrew Taylor, aged 95, loving father and grandfather, passed away on March 25, 2008 in Gilroy, California. He is survived by his children, daughters Vonia Haselhofer (Loren) and Janet Anderson (Andy), son Solon Taylor (Barbara), 13 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, 2 great-great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his wife Crystal, second wife Lee, son Dennis and daughter Minnie Ann.
He was born August 8, 1912 in Blytheville, Arkansas. He was the eighth of thirteen children born to General Zackariah Taylor and Annie Catherine Hall. He grew up on the family farm and attended school in Arkansas. It was there the values of hard work, honesty and a strong faith established their lifelong presence. He also learned many of the skills that would determine his future work. Throughout his life he was employed as a blacksmith, mechanic, maintenance man and farmer.
He met Crystal Sandlin while working on a farm in Missouri. She noticed him in church one day and told her friends he was the man she was going to marry. They married on October 21, 1935 in Lilbourn and settled in Catron, Missouri where he owned and operated the Taylor Garage. In 1946 he decided to try farming fulltime and moved his family of three daughters and two sons to Dexter, MO.
He quit farming and returned to mechanic work in the 1950’s. His family was active in the community, hosting potlucks and participating in church activities. Andy was known as a man who was always there when you needed him. Because he had a rare blood type, he once traveled all the way to St Louis to donate blood for a young boy.
In February, 1960 he and his family moved to Watsonville, California to be closer to family. He worked as a maintenance man for various businesses before moving back to Missouri after the death of his son. He and his wife then returned to California where he remained until his death. He worked at Paul Masson Winery before retiring in 1977.
He then settled down to enjoy his hobbies of gardening and tinkering in his garage. True to his hard-working spirit, he was unable to remain fully retired and returned to the workforce part-time with Hunting-Bye for several years. He acted as an extra grandfather to the children of his close friends and neighbors, Alex and Pat Solano.
In 2007 he moved to Gilroy to live with his daughter Vonia and her husband Loren. He continued to enjoy the outdoors and loved to watch the deer and turkeys every day.
He was a much loved man who will be sorely missed by his family and friends. Services will be held on Thursday, March 27 at 1:00 P.M. at the Habing Family Funeral Home.
