Dr. Roosevelt Taylor

Dr. Roosevelt Taylor of Ann Arbor, Michigan, follower of Jesus Christ, beloved father, retired physician, mentor and friend to many departed this life and entered the Kingdom of Heaven on August 18, 2023 at the age of 94.

Roosevelt Taylor, the second of two sons was born to William E. Taylor and Georgia C. Parks Taylor on March 26, 1929 in Flint Michigan. He accepted Christ at an early age at Canaan Baptist Church in Flint, where his parents were among the founding members and where his older brother William T. Taylor served as the church’s music director.

Like his mother and his older brother, Roosevelt had a passion for music. He played saxophone for pleasure and he became a lifelong jazz aficionado and collector. At one point his jazz album collection numbered in the thousands. Over the course of his life Dr. Taylor developed personal friendships with jazz greats like Woody Herman, Thad Jones and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Roosevelt Taylor attended Flint Public schools, where he excelled in academics at Parkland Elementary and Emerson Junior High before graduating from Flint Northern High School near the top of his class.

After high school Roosevelt Taylor went on to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he studied at the College of Pharmacy, graduating near the top of his class in 1952. After graduation he returned to Flint to work as a pharmacist at a neighborhood pharmacy under the mentorship of Gordon McDonald. It was Mr. McDonald who inspired Roosevelt to pursue a career in medicine.

The next stop for Roosevelt was the College of Osteopathic medicine and Surgery in Iowa. After graduation from medical school he returned to his hometown of Flint where he did his internship and residency at Flint Osteopathic Hospital. During this time frame Roosevelt proposed to then married Sheila D. Johnson of Chicago, Illinois. During the years thereafter they welcomed their two beloved sons, Gordon Taylor and Lyle Taylor.

Dr. Taylor, along with his medical schoolmate Dr. Clarence Wilson established Crestwood Clinic in the heart of the City of Flint, where the two general practitioners focused providing quality healthcare access to poor, working class and elderly patients. Their practice flourished from the late 1960s and into the 1980s.

Dr. Taylor had a wide variety of interests apart from jazz and his medical career. He and his wife Sheila were active in the Civil Right Movement. They attended the 1963 March on Washington, D.C., where they met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on a hotel elevator. Dr. Taylor once appeared on national television as an audience contestant playing the “Stump The Band” music trivia game on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

Dr. Taylor was a firm believer in the value of education, not only for his own sons, but for all young people. He was an active mentor to the children of his friends and of his patients who aspired to higher education. Some of these went on to have successful careers in medicine and in business.

Dr. Roosevelt Taylor is also a proud “Michigan Man.” He has been a donor to Michigan Athletics and a Michigan Football season ticket holder for more than 55 years.

Dr. Taylor settled in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1993 to be near his children. He is believed to be one of the longest tenured residents in the history of Lurie Terrace Senior Apartments. During the past 30 years his top priorities have been his personal witness for Jesus Christ and the love he shared with his family. He never allowed afflictions like severe glaucoma, arthritis or even fixed income to get in the way of showing kindness, generosity and friendship to anyone in need of these. Consistently reflecting the love of God will be the enduring legacy of Dr. Roosevelt Taylor.

Dr. Taylor left behind four children, Gordon Taylor, Lyle Taylor, Stephanie Taylor and Michael Taylor, grandson Austin M. Taylor and his former wife Sheila Taylor. Other mourners include numerous aunts and cousins from the Parks family of Dayton, Ohio. Dr. Taylor’s mother, Georgia C. Taylor, father William E. Taylor and brother William T. Taylor, all of Flint, Michigan preceded him into the Kingdom of Heaven, as have more than 40 aunts, uncles and cousins who were part of his life journey.

The Taylor family offers special thanks to Dr. Taylor’s attending physicians and caregivers at the University of Michigan Hospital, including Dr. Staci Aubry. Dr. Sri Sharma and the nursing teams from the 5th Floor Surgical Intensive Care Units and 5th Floor Unit B. Dr. Taylor and his family will always be grateful for your professionalism and extraordinary care.

Private memorial services have taken place. In lieu of flowers the family of Dr. Roosevelt Taylor asks that you consider making donations in his honor and memory to one or more of the following: Bill Winston Ministries of Oak Park, Illinois, Ever Increasing Faith Ministries of Los Angeles, California, Kenneth Copeland Ministries of Fort Worth, Texas, the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy or any Name, Image and Likeness collective approved and endorsed by Michigan Athletics.

Remember that Jesus is Lord! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3: 16 “….for we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

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