Nolan A. Taylor, 70, of Afton passed away on Sunday, Oct 17, 2010 after suffering a heart attack. He was born Aug 22, 1943 in Afton to Albert and LaVivian Jensen Taylor. He was the youngest of four surviving children and the only boy.
At the age of three, Nolan's father was killed by lightning while working in the hay field, his mother was later remarried to Ralph Herzog who raised Nolan and his sisters, loving them as his own.
Nolan was a typical boy, full of mischief and fun loving. But he was also a very hared worker. He spent a lot of his young life working for his sister and brother-in-law Laura and Dallas Tolman on their ranch.
He married his sweetheart Melanie Kennington, on Feb 14, 1959 in Idaho Falls. They were blessed with three wonderful children, Sherri, Carrie and Alan.
Nolan worked very hard to be a good provider for his family. He worked at Call Air, for Farrell and Dallas Tolman as a ranch hand, and at Don Wood Tractor, both as a mechanic and as a backhoe operator.
Nolan loved operating the backhoe, and in 1967 he purchased a backhoe and dump truck and began his own business, which he called Taylor Construction. He was well known throughout the whole valley for his excellent work. If it wasn't perfect, it wasn't good enough.
After many years of construction work, Nolan decided to try something different and opened Taylor Welding and Equipment. His son, Alan was always working by his side.
Nolan loved the outdoors. His favorite times were spent with his family camping, hunting, four-wheeling, snowmobiling and working on his ranch.
Nolan was also instrumental in organizing the Star Valley search and Rescue and served as a member of the search and rescue team. He also served on the Afton water board, the Grover North Canal Board and in the National Guard.
He was a great husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother and uncle. He had a deep love for his wife and family and there was a special place in his heart for his little ones. He always stayed close to his sisters and their families. He will be in our hearts always until we see him again.
Nolan is survived by his wife, Melanie; daughter Sherri (Rick) Hansen; daughter Carrie (Shane) Taylor; and son Alan (Anji) Taylor; 12 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. He is also survived by his sisters, Laura Tolman, Joy Wilkes and Naomi Johnson.
He was preceded in death by his parents, step father and an infant sister Lolita.
Funeral services were held on Wednesday Oct 20, 2010 in the Afton Third Ward LDS Church

Taylor, Nolan A (17 Oct 2010)Star Valley Independent