Harold Raymond Taylor III

View Funeral Webcast  Mr. Harold Raymond Taylor III, age 71, passed away on Wednesday, 21 February 2018, at Maury Regional Hospital in Columbia, TN, with his devoted wife, Hellen, by his side. A celebration of life will be conducted Saturday, 24 March 2018 at 11:00 A.M. at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home in Columbia, TN, with the Reverend Chip Hunter officiating. Visitation and a Reception, hosted by our dear friends from the Friendship Women's Club, will follow at the Family Center of the West Seventh Street Church of Christ. The family suggests memorials to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (support for the gravely wounded and scholarships for children of the fallen), PO Box 89367, Tampa, FL 33689, www.specialops.org; or the Maury County Public Library, 211 West Eighth Street, Columbia, TN 38401; or the First United Methodist Church of Columbia, 222 West Seventh Street, Columbia, TN 38401; or the West Seventh Street Church of Christ, 405 West Seventh Street, Columbia, TN 38401; or Graymere Church of Christ, 1320 Trotwood Avenue, Columbia, TN 38401. Condolences may be extended online at www.oakesandnichols.com. Harold was born in Woodbury, NJ to the late Harold R. Taylor, Jr. and Irma Mead Taylor, but became a Texan at age 16, from which he never recovered. He earned both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Chemical Engineering from Rice University in Houston, TX, where he met his future wife. Harold began his engineering career at Texaco, Inc., continued for many years at CIBA-GEIGY, and finished at the Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory. He was awarded a patent for wax filtration techniques and was the principal Process Design Engineer for several major chemical manufacturing facilities. He retired to Columbia, TN in 2004. He was an outdoorsman, a voracious reader, a history buff, and an avid bridge player, becoming a Life Master in the American Contract Bridge League in February 2013, with the help of his friends at the Orion Bridge Club. He is survived by Hellen, his wife of 47 years; sister Joanell (Bill) Parchen of San Antonio, TX; nieces Jennifer (Ian) Powell of Washington and Jena (Nick) Halpin of Hawaii; great-niece Cambrien (Jeff) Graves of Kansas; great-nephews Samuel Halpin and Joshua Halpin of Hawaii; aunts Donna Richman of New Jersey and Jo Ann Hutchinson of North Carolina; sister-in-law Alyce Rowland of Texas; and many cousins and friends. He is also survived by the Baynes of Louisiana, the Homans and Bricks of New Jersey, and the Lamberts of Texas, friends whom he considered chosen family. His wife would like to express special gratitude to Harold's cousin Tod (Mary) Richman of New Jersey, whose caring and support was profoundly comforting, and to his neighbors, the Grooms families, whose many kindnesses sustained him and his wife. The Family would like to extend their deep gratitude to the faculty and staff at Maury Regional Hospital for the compassionate care they provided, and especially to the staff of the CCU, who cared for Harold during his last few days.