THE Beaudesert community quietly said farewell to one of its own in a memorial service for Kent Murton Taylor at the Beaudesert Bowls Club on September 5.
Mr Taylor, who passed away on August 27 from asbestos-related mesothelioma, was born in 1947 at Pirrinuan on the Darling Downs, the third child of Edith Ida and Henry Milton Taylor.
The family bought a dairy farm at Veresdale Scrub in 1955 and Mr Taylor went to Veresdale Scrub and Beaudesert schools.
Mr Taylor's family downsized to a property at Gleneagle after his father became ill. He passed away when Mr Taylor was 21.
Mr Taylor met his future wife Susan Ferguson at the home of her parents Ray and Molly, where Mr Taylor and his young friends regularly enjoyed playing cards with them.
He and Sue married in January 1973, and in 1976 moved into their home in Buchanan Street where they raised their four children Christopher, Danielle, Andrew and Lauren. This is still the family home today and is the home to 'Sunday night dinners', a long-standing family tradition.
The couple have also been blessed with four son and daughters in-law Heidi, Griff, Dirk and Amy and nine beautiful grandchildren Livinnia, Eliza, Hayden, Katie, Hunter, Ava, Charlotte, Archie and James.
Mr Taylor doted on and adored all his family, and his family undeniably loved and adored him.
During his life, Mr Taylor held a variety of jobs which included being a farmhand, fruit picking, labouring for builders and plumbers, and truck driving.
His longest employment was at the local meat works where he worked for over twenty years and earned the reputation for being a hard worker who hardly ever took a sick day. He gained immeasurable experience throughout his working life and has been quoted saying "I'm Jack of all trades, master of none".
Many locals will also remember Mr Taylor from working Sundays at "Molly's Shop" a family owned business run by his wife Sue from the 1990's to 2000.
Mr Taylor retired from his 23rd and last job as manager of Lahey and Walker's Caltex Beaudesert South, four months before his 70th Birthday.
After falling ill in December he was diagnosed with mesathelioma from asbestos exposure, a prognosis that he faced with a stoic attitude and a keen sense of humour that saw him through until his final days.
Beaudesert resident Rodney Walker paid tribute to Mr Taylor at his memorial service.
"When I first met Kent he was captain of the Railways A grade cricket team," he said. "My old mate Phil Day and I were a little bit wary of the captain... He seemed to a cranky old so and so with a big WG Grace beard.
"It was at our first cricket team barbecue that he plied us with a few full strength beers, with of course a dash of sars and told one of the best jokes I've ever heard about a footballer missing an attempt at kicking a goal. From then on we got on like a house on fire for the next 45 years.
"Kent was his own man and what you saw was what you got," he said. "He was invited to my 40th birthday party which was a dress-up 70s theme. He got several favourable comments about his 70s outfit and it was sometime later he confided to someone that he didn't know it was a dress up party."
Mr Taylor was 72 when he passed away and will be dearly missed by his wife Sue, family, extended family, friends and the wider Beaudesert community.
