Edward Taylor

A beloved son, brother, father, grandfather and friend to all, Edward, “Special Ed” Joseph Taylor passed away at his home in Raymond Washington on May 31,2024. He was 68. He was pre-deceased by his parents, Garland and Dorothy Taylor of Chesapeake, Virginia. He is survived by his three children, son Christopher Taylor and his mother Selina Taylor Monteiro of Virginia, son Jacob Graham, his mother Lucy Graham and his expectant wife Kayla of Soldotna, Alaska, his daughter Geraldine Jane Pepper of Medford Oregon and her mother Linda Goodwin of Raymond, his grandchildren, Lanora Davis of Suffolk, Virginia, Alaska and Lincoln Pepper of Medford Oregon, his siblings, Lawrence Taylor of Leander Texas, his sisters, Gail Taylor Jackson and Teresa Taylor Strandberg of Nags Head, North Carolina, nephews, nieces and numerous cousins. 

Ed grew up on the East Coast in Chesapeake, Virginia. He was born gifted with many talents. He was extremely intelligent with a very high IQ. Because of this specialty, he served in the United States Army Intelligence department, intercepting and decoding secret messages sent amongst our foreign enemies. 

As a young child he developed a love for all things musical and was a musical savant. At an early age, he taught himself how to read music and had the gift of perfect pitch. He learned to play music on a plastic toy guitar, as well as to play drums on a toy set, both beloved Christmas presents from his parents. Later he taught himself to play most any musical instrument. His first “garage band”, The Swinging Cats, bandmates were his two sisters, Gail and Teresa and they wrote and performed their own music and entertained the neighborhood families. His mum Dorothy provided popcorn and sweet Iced tea for all the concert go'ers. His following band consisted of two neighborhood brothers, The Smith boys and a bass player Gary Combs. They performed and played their music wherever they could find an outlet to plug in their speakers and amps and had a large fanbase. The bond that these young boys formed was a lifelong friendship. 

Ed was born also with the gift of creativity and a puzzle mind. Like his Daddy Garland, he could fix anything, whether mechanical or electrical. He taught himself woodworking and took great pride in creating beautiful things for his home and as gifts. 

He loved to cook and entertain and it was a pleasure to sit at his table and share a meal with him and presentation was everything as well as good conversation. Many friends will remember finishing a delicious meal by being serenaded with song and music performed and written by Edward and played on his 12 string Taylor acoustic guitar. Ed always had an open door policy and would welcome and serve anyone in need of a meal or a roof over their head and received great pleasure in being able to do so. He was a true friend and companion to all and never met a stranger. 

He had a wanderlust heart and traveled the world but felt most at home on the open waters. He spent many years on the seas during his years as a commercial fisherman and after all his travels decided that Raymond Washington would ultimately be his home Port o’ Call. 

Ed was very modest when it came to his gifts and achievements, but believed that his greatest gifts in life were his children Chris, Jake and Jane. He was extremely proud of them and their accomplishments and spoke of them often and how much they had overcome their own circumstances. His deepest regrets were the fact that he was not often present in their childhood and formative years, due to his work taking him away from them and their mothers and his own personal struggles. Later in his life, he developed a close and personal relationship with each and was most at peace and filled with great joy when he was in their presence and loved spending time with them and his grandchildren. This was his greatest blessing and he was most grateful to have them in his life.

Most people will find themselves fortunate to experience one great love in their lifetime, but Ed had the rare fortune of finding three in the relationships he found in the love of the mothers of his children, Selina, Lucy and Linda. Each one of these incredible women played an important role in his life and mothered his children, Chris, Jake and Jane. Much of his music was written in the story telling of his relationships and his love for these women. These mothers and children are heartbroken, suffering the loss of their once partner and beloved father.

Ed’s loss is felt greatly by his family, loved ones and friends and it is a tragic loss indeed.

Edward Joseph Taylor was loved by many and will be missed much.

Ed’s children plan to spread his ashes over the Willapa Bay. No other services are planned at this time. We as a family ask that you, his friends and loved ones honor his memory by sharing a meal and helping others that are less fortunate, with a grateful heart, as it brought him much joy so please pay it forward.

As his family, we ask and welcome you to visit his tribute page on the Bayview Funeral home of Raymond Washington’s website and share any pictures and fond memories you may have made with our beloved “Special Ed”. We would love that.