Honeoye Falls NY: April 15, 2016. Creative and successful engineer, Roland Stuart Taylor, 81, of Honeoye Falls and Eagle Bay, NY passed away peacefully on April 15, 2016 surrounded by his family. “Rollie” grew up in Syracuse, NY, the youngest child of William J. Taylor and Ingeborg Andersen. He is predeceased by his parents, his wife of 58 years, Patricia Taylor, beloved granddaughter, Laurin Frisina and siblings: Richard, Mary, Robert, Evangeline, Donald and William.
He graduated from Most Holy Rosary High School in Syracuse at the age of 16 and studied pre-medicine at Notre Dame for two years, then transferred to Syracuse University where he graduated with a Bachelors degree in Science.
Rollie’s life afforded him many adventuresome experiences of long bicycle trips, camping, sailing, skiing and early questionable creative endeavors using spare lawn mower parts and army-navy surplus. He loved tinkering with cars, and often one could find him under the hood with a handful of wrenches. His most passionate life-long hobby was linked to his love of flight. He was a devoted radio-controlled model airplane enthusiast as evident by his Adirondack boathouse being converted to a model airplane hangar and repair shop. At the age of 37 he became a private pilot, buying and rebuilding a Piper Cherokee-140 airplane.
In 1956, he married Patricia Mullin, a spunky tomboy from his neighborhood; and began working for Rochester Products, a division of General Motors. Being a natural inventor and problem-solver, he began to apply those skills designing carburetors and fuel-injectors for fuel systems. At age 58 he was awarded the Boss-Kettering award, General Motors’ top honor for technical innovations. He and his esteemed team were the recipients of numerous patents for their engineering inventions. He retired in 1993 as Chief Engineer for Design and Development of the Fuel Systems Division of General Motors. He remained friends with his respected colleagues throughout his retirement years. His family enjoyed hearing many humorous anecdotes from his colleagues about his work life.
When not at work, Rollie enjoyed puttering in his basement or boathouse building model airplanes. Many vacationers on Fourth Lake in the Adirondacks were entertained by his aerial acrobatics. Over the years he made many friends who also were model airplane enthusiasts, especially his brother Dick and nephew Bill Taylor.
Surviving their father are three daughters, Susan (Robert) Frisina of Tampa FL; Karen Taylor of Naples NY; Kathleen (Steven) Good of Horseheads NY. He was blessed with six grandchildren; Laurin and Taylor Frisina, Kaleigh and Keegan (Cate) Leslie-Taylor, and Shannon and Courtney Good.
A very heartfelt thanks goes out to his nieces, nephews, son-in-laws, grandchildren, co-workers and friends for the many hours they spent discussing science, philosophy, politics and insights about everyday life that enriched his life continually.
A time of gathering to celebrate his life will take place this summer when warm breezes blow across the water and fill sails with God’s natural fuel.
Rollie was an excellent boss and a good friend.
Rollie was a good leader and mentor.
I appreciated his advice in life and enjoyed our visits at our ADK camps.
Rollie was one of a kind.