We can never fix the past but knowing that doesn’t keep us from mourning it. At the beginning of July, we all lost a great friend and coworker of 30 years, Rob Taylor. Rob was a great Shepley success story. He started on our loading docks, just out of college and soon worked his way to a class B, CDL license, honing his craft while delivering millwork throughout the Cape and Southeastern MA. Along the way, he paid attention, learned the many details of interior trim, developed many relationships in the field, and made himself the obvious choice to become a millwork sales specialist for us. Rob rose to the top of his trade and really became a standard setter for his performance, accuracy, and his loyalty and dedication to our customers and our company. Rob was tremendously passionate and possessed a love of helping others, human and animal alike. His friends and his dogs could always depend on him to do the right thing and be there when they needed him. Around Shepley, he became well-known for his adopted mantra, “just do it”. Nike may have branded it, but you could depend on Rob to live it, and for over 50 years he did just that.
The loss of Rob has left a huge void in the hearts of those who loved and worked with him. He was always so driven and full of promise. To lose someone who still had so much life to live elicits shock, sadness, anger, disbelief, regret, introspection and second guessing as to what we would have, could have, or should have done differently to ensure a better outcome for him, his family and all of those who knew and loved him.
We are left with our sadness about losing Rob, but we are thinking about the best way to honor and remember him, by creating something good and lasting from his premature departure. To that end, we want to establish a fund in Rob’s name to honor his willingness to always lend a hand to help and support others. The crisis of addiction has ravaged our community with very little hope in sight. Early thoughts are that the fund should be dedicated toward this issue and perhaps more specifically toward somehow offering support to the forgotten family members who suffer their own stress, pain and isolation as they are forced to watch a loved one lose hope and slip away. Family, friends, and those who care are often victims of the collateral damage caused by addiction. How may we help? How do we do this? Your ideas are welcome. Please e-mail us at rtaylor@shepleywood.com, if you’d like to share your thoughts or feelings. Robert H. Taylor, we mourn your far too early departure, but we will not let your memory fade. We will find purpose in your passing and help others in your name. Let’s “just do it!”