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In memory of

Steve Taylor

Austin, TX

September 11, 1952 - May 23, 2003

Sep 11, 1952 - May 23, 2003

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(05/29/2003) Steve Taylor Steve died suddenly Friday afternoon, May 23, 2003. He was born Carl Stephen Taylor on September 11, 1952 in Columbus, Ohio, to Howard and Marjorie Joplin Taylor. His family includes his beloved wife and partner of 12 years, Evelyn Jones; his beautiful and talented daughter, Grace Margaret; cherished step-son, Gabriel Lewis, all of McDade; his ``Little'' brother, Scott Taylor; sister-in-law, Debbie; nieces, Katherine and Sean; nephew, Matthew, all of Kent, WA; brother-in- law, Steve; mother-in-law, Eleanor, father-in-law, Charles, all of San Antonio and Uvalde. He is also survived by his uncle, Charles Joplin and wife, Mary of Lubbock and uncle, Mike Joplin and wife, Barbara of Kerrville; and cousins, Julia, Erin, Chad and Jeffery. His grandparents, parents and sister, Carol preceded him in death. Steve lived in Amarillo, Adelaide, Australia, and Auburn, AL, before moving to Austin in 1978. Steve and his family moved to McDade in 1997. He loved living in the country with lots of room for the kids, garden and animals. Steve was a man of integrity and decency. He was always fair and honest in his dealings with family and friends. Steve had a wonderful gift for relating to everyone. He had a great sense of humor; a dry wit. He also enjoyed telling tall tales (like when ``I was King of France'' and ``Stinky Maloney'') a legacy of his West Texas heritage. He lived his life with no regrets. He did what made him happy and shared his life with those he loved the most. Steve was a true Renaissance man. He had a litany of interests and accomplishments. I won't be able to list them all. He had many friends in the antique world. He worked with Lucky Attal for 17 years. He was an expert in the fields of antique photography, paintings, rare books, and early Texas furniture and stoneware. Steve loved to share his knowledge with his fellow collectors. Steve had a ``good eye'' the highest complement you can give a fellow antiquer. Steve and Evelyn started their own antique business 11 years ago. They were regulars on the garage, estate sale and auction circuit where they met many of their closest friends. He was a talented artist in many mediums. Steve wrote political and humor articles for Austin magazines and newspapers: a contributor to among others, the Austin Rag, the Austin Sun, and the Austin Chronicle. He also published his own satirical magazine, Steve's Inner City Newz, distributed at his coffee hang-out, the Red River Cafe. All typed on his typewriter, ``Trigger'', using one finger. One of Steve's many interests was gardening. He was excited about the spring garden and had recently completed a beautiful enclosure of the garden area complete with antique iron garden gates and handmade cedar arbors. Grace was Steve's greatest joy. He was 40 years old when Grace was born. He assisted with her birth and they were inseparable over the next ten years. He structured his life so that be would always be available for her. He taught her to read. He took her to school everyday, a 75 mile round-trip. They had many, many shared activities: drawing and painting together (Grace had inherited the Joplin gene for art), playing checkers (Gracie always won), reading books together side by side on the couch or bed, riding bikes, picking blackberries and they especially loved their family vacations in Uvalde, Port Aransas and Akumal and Tulum, Mexico. She is happy to have had her Dad spend so much time with her. She has grown up feeling loved and secure. Steve was also a caring dad to his step-son, Gabe. Gabe was six years old when Steve entered the uncharted water of helping raise him. He helped him with his homework and took him to school. They enjoyed fishing, cooking, Monty Python and exchanging ideas. Steve was a sounding board for Gabe. They enjoyed each others company. He always encouraged Gabe to try out his ideas like the time Gabe bottled his own hot sauce and sold it. Steve was extremely proud that Gabe is entering college in the fall. I will miss him most of all. I cannot put to words the incredible sense of loss. We were truly soul- mates. He was my best friend. We shared a love that has no bounds. Steve's family would like to thank those good people who came to Steve's aid by calling 911 and performing CPR. Evelyn and Grace would like to thank Vicki and Victoria Gutierez for staying with Grace at the hospital until her mom could be located. Bless you Charlie Eichman for all of your help at the hospital. There are good people in this world. We deeply appreciate the many phone calls and the offers of assistance from our friends. The support from the St. Francis School community has been tremendous. Your concerns and love are heartfelt and needed. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Grace Jones-Taylor Youth Account at University Federal Credit Union, 4611 North Guadalupe, Austin 78751 or to St. Francis School. The memorial service will be held at 12:00 noon, Friday, May 30th at St. Francis School, 300 East Huntland Drive, Austin (454-0848). We miss and love you Steve! Our time together was way too short ... ``Only Good Dreams''. Arrangements are under the direction of Forever All Faiths Funeral Service, Austin, Texas.

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