John C. Taylor ’45

Jack was born in Shanghai, where his father was a missionary chemistry professor. He first arrived in America to attend Episcopal High School. He went on to Princeton, where he rowed on the freshman crew and sang with the Glee Club and the Nassoons. He was in the Flying Club, was a member of Cloister Inn, and was undergraduate trustee.

When World War II broke out, Jack flew 35 combat missions over Germany with the 8th Air Force’s 452nd Bomb Group, serving as a navigator on a B-17. He returned to Princeton and completed his degree in politics.

His first career as a sales representative in the steel business led him to Buffalo, where he met Wende Bennett. They married and had two children. Later, at Pratt & Whitney aircraft’s commercial jet-engine division, he represented the company to airline clients in the United Kingdom and Middle East.

He sang with a local a cappella group, the Spare Parts, for nearly 30 years. Upon retirement he volunteered for Meals on Wheels, the American Red Cross, and the Connecticut Radio Information System, where he read newspapers for blind listeners across the state.

Jack died Aug. 2, 2018. He was predeceased by his wife, Wende; and sister Anne. He is survived by his sisters, Harriet and Wickham; daughter Wende; son Jonathan; and grandchildren Annie, Ben, Elby, Sadie, and Xander.