Terry Kendall Taylor

Terry Kendall Taylor, born at 11:33 PM on September 8, 1947, in Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi, left our sight to go to his heavenly home at 9:09 PM on July 30, 2024. Terry fought a long, hard battle with his health on this earth and we rejoice that he has left his pain behind and will suffer no more. Terry was a Christian and he has now seen the face of Jesus.

Terry was a kind and compassionate man and fiercely proud of his rural upbringing. He loved to tell stories of his youth living on a farm in rural Mississippi with his parents and sister, with aunts and uncles and grandparents nearby. He spent many happy times with his granny who taught him how to fish. He rode horses with his friends throughout Choctaw County and attended a small school in the Panhandle, and then in Weir. During his teen years, he played the saxophone and the organ in a rock and roll band called the Off Beats. He spent four years of service in the Air Force during the Vietnam era and then graduated from the University of Mississippi. The friends he made during his youth and school days were some of his closest friends throughout his life. He spent years in the residential mortgage business helping so many people achieve the pride of home ownership. He made so many more friends in his career which was especially easy because he had the gift of gab and never met a stranger.

Anyone who knew Terry knew of the deep love he had for family and friends, his love of Ole Miss, his love of music, and his love of reading. He was proud of his children and grandsons, and he loved them dearly. He loved watching Grayson in baseball, football, and basketball games. He loved watching Avery in soccer games, swim practices and competitions, and listening to him play the piano. And though their time together was brief, he loved his youngest grandson Bailey and was grateful to be able to go to Colorado to be present for his birth in October 2023 and again for his Baptism in February of 2024. He loved our country and was a true patriot. He loved life and travel, watching old westerns on TV, and playing board games and dominoes. He loved spending time with friends both new and old.

Terry is preceded in death by his father, James Wilson Taylor, his mother, Cassie Mae Stevenson Taylor, his grandparents, and several aunts and uncles. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Teresa Jedlicka Taylor, his son, Jayme (James) Willson Taylor II and wife, Missy Redding Taylor, his daughter, Tara Nicole Taylor Roddy and husband, Rusty Roddy, his grandsons, Grayson Kendall Roddy, Avery Thomas Taylor, and Bailey Kendall Taylor, his sister, Rachel Pearson, several nieces and nephews, and many, many friends. 

The family will receive friends from 5:00-6:00 PM, Friday, August 2, 2024, at McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home and the service will follow at 6:00 PM with Rev. Glenn Dale Ray officiating. The interment will be at 2:00 PM, August 19, 2024, at East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery on John Sevier Highway.

We want to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff at University Cancer Specialists in Alcoa, Tennessee, and Knoxville, Tennessee, the caring nurses and staff at the University of Tennessee Hospital in Knoxville, and the caring team with UT Hospice. All of you played a part in making Terry’s battle with multiple myeloma a bit easier to handle when things got rough. Your care and compassion will always be remembered.