- Date Of Birth: July 13, 1938
- Date Of Death: March 6, 2021
- City: Palatka
- State: Florida
John B Taylor, 82, of Palatka passed from this life peacefully on March 6, 2021, with family at his side. John joined the Navy in 1956 and was stationed on the USS Jasper (a submarine chaser) located in the Panama Canal Zone until 1959. While on the ship he was a rescue & underwater diver. He also played baseball for the Navy during his tour. He was discharged in 1959 and came home to Palatka. He formed an underwater diving team called the Palatka Aqua Knights and dove in various underwater caves including the Devils Hole in West Putnam. Throughout these dives, many prehistoric mammals were recovered and documented by the Palatka Daily News in May of 1960. He along with 3 members of his dive team founded the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department Rescue and Recovery Unit Dive Team.
In 1971 he became a Master Mason of Palatka Lodge 34 and later acquired York Rites and Scottish Rights. He was also a Shriner of the Morocco Temple in Jacksonville and later joined the Putnam County Shrine Club “Thunderbirds”. He and his father were the first Father and Son to join the Palatka Elks #1232 in 1959. He was on the committee for the purchase of the land and building for the present location of the Putnam County Shrine Club.
John was the former owner of Guaranty Title Company which he purchased in 1964.
John was married to his first wife, Gail Millican Taylor, from November of 1961 until the date of her death in 2012. He had 51 wonderful years of marriage, together they had 3 beautiful girls: Jimi Lynn Taylor Westbury (Bill), Conie Taylor Congleton, and Kristi Taylor Kendall, two granddaughters, Tia Smith, and Toni Westbury and three grandsons, Skyler Kwasneski, Taylor Kwasneski, and Connor Kendall, two great-granddaughters, Bre Rivers, and Jaden Smith, and one great-grandson, Bodie Rivers. He is also survived by his present wife, Nancy Jones-Taylor since September of 2020, sister, Dell Wilkinson, and stepson, William Brossett (Teresa).
In addition to his wife, Gail, John is preceded in death by his parents, Elbert and Agnes Taylor, and son-in-law, Jim Congleton.
