WILLIAM ‘BILL’ TAYLOR: April 23, 1948–Sept. 7, 2026
William “Bill” Roger Taylor passed away peacefully at home on Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2026, surrounded by his children, grandchildren, and their families.
Born on April 23, 1948, to Roger and Jeneane Taylor in Whitefish, Montana, Bill spent his childhood on the family farm on the north end of Flathead Lake. He was most at home in the fields and barns or with his nose in a book. He was the oldest of three and enjoyed the companionship of his younger sister, Sandy, and brother, Ron.
After high school in Kalispell, Montana, Bill attended the University of Montana in Bozeman, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education in 1970. He later returned to complete his master’s degree in education. It was during
his undergrad years that Bill met his first wife, Connie Willems. They had a daughter, Jami, in 1971.
Bill worked as a high school teacher at several schools in North Dakota and Montana, and also took a variety of odd jobs in his younger life to make ends meet. The young couple was living in Illinois in 1977 when Connie passed away.
Bill and his daughter Jami returned to Billings, Montana, where Bill reconnected with Esther Stahl, a friend at his Thursday night church group. Their first date was the 1977 release of Star Wars, and on their second date Bill brought Jami to meet Esther for a picnic by the Yellowstone River. Bill asked Esther to marry him on their third date, and their marriage would be a long and joyous one. The two had three more daughters, Hadassah (Dessa), Grace, and Tara, rounding out Bill’s gaggle of girls.
In 1980, Bill took a job as a vocational agriculture teacher in Fromberg, Montana. The family moved to the nearby town of Bridger. Bill taught high school and ran the FFA program for 12 years in Fromberg before he accepted a job as the University of Wyoming agricultural extension agent serving Weston County in 1992. Bill stayed in that job until his retirement in 2014. Bill’s beloved wife Esther passed away in 2021 with early-onset Alzheimer’s.
As a husband and father, Bill was warm and loving, steadfast and loyal. He was the rock in every storm for his girls. He told hard truths, but was also a soft, safe place to land. He had the most infectious laugh. One of his favorite things was to take a long drive on the back roads through the Black Hills to experience the peace of the forest. He loved to hunt, fish, and was always working on the next project in his wood shop.
The most important relationship in Bill’s life was with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Bill was a born-again Christian who put his faith in God. He would say, through the hardest trials of life, that “God is in control,” and found peace in the conviction that God had a plan for him. Bill was an elder at the Church on the Hill in Newcastle where he was a father-figure and brother-figure to many. Bill took great meaning in his later life, especially after Esther passed, in serving his church family and helping to build a community to honor God’s will.
Bill suffered for many years with sarcoidosis of the lungs, leaving him vulnerable to lung infection and pneumonia. He succumbed to these conditions in the end.
Bill is preceded in death by his beloved wife of 43 years, Esther Taylor. He is survived by his sister, Sandy Standley; brother, Ron (Robbin) Taylor; his four daughters, Jami Gomez, Hadassah (Chris) Reimer, Grace (Jason) Logan, and Tara (Joe) Schroeder. He also leaves behind nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.
A wake will be held at the Taylor home at 3306 Stirrup Street on Friday, Sept. 11, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. All friends and family are welcome to stop by to laugh, cry, and reminisce about Bill. Funeral services will be held at Church on the Hill on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 1 p.m.