George Edward Taylor - Happy29's Blog

Happy29's Blog

George Edward Taylor

Posted on May 2, 2012 at 11:32 PM.

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George Edward Taylor was my uncle, my mom's brother. On Sunday he went home to be with the Lord after a long battle with cancer. This is the man that bought me my first fishing pole, taught me how to steer a boat and many other things. I loved this man like a dad and today we laid him to rest, this is a story my sister wrote that was used today. I would like to share it with everyone.

In March 2002, I was given a college assignment: to interview someone who has lived an extraordinary life. I chose Uncle George. I had no idea at the time that I was basically writing his eulogy. The account I am about to give is from his own words, and those of us who really knew him will say, �Yep, that�s George for you.�

George Edward Taylor was born on March 16, 1934 to Onie Albert and Elnor Broadus Taylor. He was their fourth child, which meant Gordie, Ora Bell, and Vivian had a lot to teach him. He didn�t start school until he was 8 years old and left after completing the 7th grade. George was not an educated man by today�s standards, but what he lacked in education, he made up for in determination. This short account of his life is like the ground we walk on. We skim the top, and there�s another layer; we skim again, and yet, there�s another. My Uncle George was one of the most unique people I have ever known. He told stories of foreign lands and their people, of being scared, and of finding love in Singapore.

To look at George as he roamed the Bayou in his later years, most people probably would have mistaken him for an auto mechanic rather than someone who represented a major company in foreign lands. His hands were scuffed and Band-Aids covered the scratches he received while working and tinkering with boats and trucks. But, his mind held memories of God�s world, both the beautiful and the ugly.

George�s ambition started when he was a young teen-age boy, working the dredge with his daddy and brother Gordie. The dredge was hard work: they dredged for the oysters, culled the oysters, and then they had to lug the sacks to the shops to be sold. Many of you know exactly what he meant when he described it as back-breaking work, and the men who did this job wore calluses on their hands like gloves. George knew there had to be an easier way to earn a living.

�The Navy,� George thought. �That�s my ticket out of here.� But he was only six-teen years old and the Navy would not take him without his parent�s signature. George told his parents what he wanted to do,but they refused to sign the consent form. Finally, George told them, �Either you sign for me, or I�ll find me a bum and let him sign the paper.� Knowing George meant his word, his daddy took him to the recruiter�s office and signed the paper. Onie signed the form but not before the officer promised him that George would not leave the country until he turned 18. Before his 18th birthday though, George was fighting in the Korean War. The war, or conflict as it was labled, lasted longer than originally expected and the enlisted men had to serve five years, instead of four. George was able to leave the Navy in April 1955, after serving a four and a half year tour of duty.

George came back to the Bayou and started chasing girls (his words �not mine!). About five or six months later, some Russians came through on a shrimp boat and he went to work for them. They went in Freeport, Texas, and while there, George and the captain had words and he left the boat. After quitting his job with the Russians, he went to Port Isabelle and worked for a year. Eventually, he got in his car and started back towards home. He made it as far as Berwick, Louisiana and had a blow-out at two in the morning. A car pulled up behind him and the man came to see if he could help. George said, �I had a blow out. I don�t have a spare and no money for a new tire.� The man not only took George to get his tire fixed, but he paid for it, and asked if he could operate a boat. This chance encounter changed George�s life. The job was working in the oil fields of Louisiana and Texas, but George knew where the future was in this growing industry. He began to work his way up in the company. His ambition led him to Belize, Honduras. He was sent to New Orleans where he caught a plane. It was the first 727 built for Eastern Airlines, and it was being sent to Mexico City for demonstration. George was its only passenger. From Mexico City he caught smaller planes to Belize. His willingness to fly wherever he was needed proved to be a huge asset to his career.

George found himself in many exotic places during his 42-year career. His favorite places were Singapore and Australia. The strangest was NewGuinea, where they still practiced cannibalism, and the place that scared him the most was Zaire, Africa. He was sent there with $20,000 dollars cash money in a briefcase. As he entered the airport, a sign read �Declare All Currency.� George had to do some quick thinking; after all, he was in a place where the yearly wages were only about two hundred dollars, and he would never make it out alive if they knew what was in his briefcase. He opted to declare only what was in his wallet, which was three hundred dollars. When he left the airport and hailed a taxi, two men climbed in with him. He told them, �No way,� and made them get out. The hotel where he stayed was in terrible condition and there were no locks on the door. He moved the bed against the door, and stayed up all night holding the briefcase in his lap. The next morning, he caught a helicopter ride to the rig and was relieved to be in a safe place. His travels took him to Bombay, India; the Persian Gulf; to Columbia, South America, and England- just to name a few.

George was the first person to set up a semi-submersible oilrig. He brought it to Pascagoula, Mississippi, where it was equipped; then he took the rig to Southwest Pass in the Gulf of Mexico and set it up using a Sextant and the stars as navigation. The rig was later toppled and sunk by a hurricane. One of his former co-workers compared George to Christopher Columbus and Magellan. He was an explorer who helped set the standard for oil and gas exploration.

George held a 1600/3000-ton Ocean license, and a wide-open pilot�s license. Not bad for a Bayou boy with only a 7th grade education! When I asked him what he contributed most to his success, he replied, �The Navy.� But those of us who knew him contributed his success to passion, hard work, and ambition. He earned a good living and lived more adventures than most people could imagine. He saw the world first hand, the best and the worst, yet he decided to retire in the same area he left more than fifty-years ago. George still loved the water and when he no longer had to do it for a living, he even enjoyed catching oysters again with his brother Gordie.

When the interview was over, I asked Uncle George if he had any regrets, and he replied with a simple, �Yeah, I wish I wouldn�t have got married so many times,� and laughed.

My last conversation with Uncle George was a week before he passed away, and it went like this.

�Well Uncle George, my girls are married and have moved out of the house. Richard is in Louisiana working, and I can�t figure out what to do with myself.�

His reply was in true Uncle George form: �I�ll tell you what to do,� he said. �You go color your hair yella (not blonde, but yella), get you a pair of them big ol� sunglasses, buy you a mustang convertible, and drive up and down the highway and tease the truckers.�

Everyone of us could stand here and tell one George story after another because he was just that memorable. There is one last story I want to tell you about, and then I�ll close. He told mom that Billy Graham was holding a crusade once and that he went to it, and that is when he accepted the Lord as his savior. We all know that George was George no matter what and no matter where. The actions he took were purposeful and calculated. If he said he accepted the Lord as his savior, I believe him because he wasn�t the type of man to pretend. Brother Clint said something a couple of weeks ago that hit home with me. He said, �If you wouldn�t do or saysomething in a church building, then you shouldn�t say or do it any other time because WE are the church.� Uncle George was just that way. He lived his life the same way whether it was Sunday or Friday. George was George day in and day out and he never pretended to be something he wasn�t. For all of his accomplishments, if I had to describe him in one word, it would be �humble.

Uncle George was a man that always told the best stories, the dirtiest jokes, and was just always a pleasure to be around. I am going to miss my Uncle but I know I will see him again one day.

Comments

# 1 Happy29 @ May 3

Hey bomberooski sorry I deleted your comment by accident. Thanks for the support. Uncle George was just the coolest guy ever, he was John Wayne, Dale Earnhardt, and Clint Eastwood all rolled into one man. I'm going to miss my stops by his house and and hearing all those awesome stories he always told.