Troy U.W. Taylor's Obituary
Troy U.W. Taylor was born on October 1, 1938, in Ingleside, AR, to Troy Taylor and Juanita (Lawson) Taylor, and passed from this life to be with the Lord on July 8, 2026, in Memphis, TN, at the age of 87. Troy was the second of three children and was known by most throughout his life as Dub. He grew up in Ingleside, AR, where he attended primary school. He then attended high school in Newport, AR, graduating in 1957. As a young teen, he went to work as a farmhand for his dad on a farm in Ingleside, spending hours on the tractors plowing and working the fields. He spent his free time playing baseball on local teams and continued to play baseball and softball into his adult years. After high school graduation, he worked the farm until he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1957. He was stationed at Little Rock (AR) Air Force Base before being deployed to Korea, where he served as an Air Force Weather Observer until 1960. Upon his return from Korea, Troy went to work at E.L. Bruce Lumber Company in Memphis, TN, in the traffic department, where he began a long career in the transportation industry.
After two years at E.L. Bruce, he went work for HUMKO, a company owned by Kraft Industries, in the traffic department. He continued working his way up through the company, until becoming the Director of Traffic and Distribution for Kraft Industries. He loved to tell stories of his career, including time spent at Northwestern University in Chicago and contracting with major national railroads and trucklines. Troy continued to work for Kraft until he retired in 1995, after 32 years.
During his time at E.L. Bruce, he met the love of his life, his future wife, Brenda Gates of Newport, AR, while he was in Newport visiting family and friends. Dub and Brenda were married on September 15, 1962, in Newport, and were married for more than 61 years and resided in Memphis, where they continued to live most of those years. Troy and Brenda had three children, Troy Brian in 1964, and twins, Tonja Renee and Terry Evans in 1967.
Troy was blessed with five grandsons that he loved spending time with. While they were children, he would spend hours playing basketball and baseball, running and laughing with them, and watching them jump off their ottoman to see if they had grown tall enough to touch the beam in the living room. As they grew up, one of his greatest joys was to continue to spend time with his children, his grandchildren and their families. He enjoyed movies and music by Gene Autry and was a dedicated Arkansas Razorback fan. He was proud a U.S. Air Force Veteran, who had loved serving his country. Troy accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior while attending Berean Baptist Church in Memphis, TN, and later attending Liberty Memorial Baptist Church and Cherokee Baptist Church.
Preceding him in death were his wife Brenda Joyce Taylor of Memphis, TN; his father and mother, Troy Taylor & Juanita Lawson Taylor of Bradford, AR; his brother, Bobby Taylor of Jacksonville, AR; and his sister Barbara Sue Lasley of Heber Springs, AR.
Troy is survived by his three children; son, Troy Brian Taylor and his wife Lori of Memphis, TN; daughter, Tonja Renee Bobo and her husband Gil of Olive Branch, MS; and son, Terry Evans Taylor of Bartlett, TN. He is also survived by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren including five grandsons; Jordan Hunter Bobo and his wife Kelsey, of Olive Branch, MS; Taylor Micah Bobo and his wife Hannah of Olive Branch, MS; Evan Jacob Taylor of Austin, TX; Troy Gabriel Taylor and his wife Rachel of Memphis, TN; and Brian Ezekiel (Zeke) Taylor of Memphis TN; six great-grandchildren including Jordan Jett Bobo and Gwenyth Ann Bobo, Blaise Allain Bobo and Ridgeland Taylor Bobo, and Troy Malachi Taylor and Titus John Taylor.
Service for Troy will be Graveside on Sunday, July 12, 2026, at 3:00pm at Memorial Park Cemetery, with Hunter Bobo officiating. The family will receive family and friends for visitation one hours prior to the service beginning at 2:00pm in the Overton Suite at Memorial Park Funeral Home.
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