After a 10 month battle with cancer, Reverend David Lesley Taylor of Bowie, Maryland passed away in his home on Thursday, July 19, 2018 at the age of 73. David moved to Maryland with his wife, Margaret, in 2007 to assume the pastorate at the Central Seventh Day Baptist Church in Mitchellville, MD. David & Margaret previously pastored Vision Christian Fellowship in Westerly, RI (2001-2007), Pawcatuck SDB Church in Westerly, RI (1990-2001), the Lost Creek, WV SDB Church (1982-1990), the New Auburn, WI SDB Church (1978-1982) and the Schenectady, NY SDB Church (1976-1978) where he took his first pastorate. During his pastoral work, David completed both his Bachelors then Masters of Theology at Andersonville Baptist College & Seminary via their distance learning program. Before entering the ministry, David worked in electronics for various employers in western New York where both he and Margaret were born and raised. David received his training in electronics in the US Army, enlisting in July, 1963. He served in Korea, assigned to a missile battery for his first 18 months of service. He was then transferred stateside to Fort Bliss, TX where he served as an instructor until he was honorably discharged in July, 1966. During his service in the Army, David received the Expert Rifle Badge, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Basic Missileman’s Badge.
David was always active in his local communities. He made a point to be involved with other local pastors and churches in prayer groups, bible studies, and official organizations such as Evangelical Ministers Fellowship and Promise Keepers. He was deeply involved in his own Seventh Day Baptist denomination, directing numerous years of Youth Pre-Con, church camps and retreats, and serving many years on the SDB Missionary Board. His heart and passion for leadership training in ministry led him to become actively involved in a church leadership training program in Plainfield, NJ. He was also foundational in establishing the TIME Program in Brazil (a Seventh Day Baptist denominational program for training of ministers and lay-leadership in local churches). This involvement led to several lengthy trips to Brazil beginning in 2009, and their last trip in 2017, just 8 months before his diagnosis.
David always had a deep love for music. He learned to play the accordion, bass guitar, and keyboards. Before he became a pastor, he played “country rock” locally in a band with his brother Allan and friends. They could also be found calling square dances at the local grange, where David met Margaret, his wife of 54 years. He told his mother that same night that he had met the woman he was going to marry. He and Margaret were married on May 16th, 1964. She was by his side, holding his hand as he passed.
David is survived by his wife, Margaret Pauline Taylor; his children, Dana Bret Taylor and his wife Sally, Dina Beth Mills, and Duane Brian Taylor and his wife Desiree; his siblings, Allan Douglas (Carol) Taylor, Stephen Paul (Sandy) Taylor, Raymond Charles (Rosie) Taylor, Lois May (Gary) Fancher and Sue Anne Taylor; his grandchildren, Curtis Deverell Taylor, Hansel Kirsten Taylor, Nathaniel Levi Mills, Kyle Anthony Taylor, Isaac Taylor Foster and David Bruce Taylor. He is also survived by six great-grandchildren. David was predeceased by a son, David Bruce Taylor, and his parents Glenn Raymond Taylor and Lillian Myrtle Enderle.
Dates and locations of memorial services to be announced. Internment will take place in New York State at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be sent to the Central Seventh Day Baptist Church at the address below. All funds will be distributed directly to the leadership training programs in the US and Brazil that meant so much to David in his ministry.
Please mark checks “in memoriam – DLT” and send to:
Central Seventh Day Baptist Church 1100 Enterprise Rd. Mitchellville, MD 20721