April 20, 2020

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

Amidst its rolling hills, Arlington National Cemetery stands as the most hallowed grounds in the United States.

It is where John F. Kennedy is buried along with his brother Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and such baseball personalities as Spottswood Poles and Jud Wilson of the Negro Leagues.

It is at this celebrated cemetery in Arlington, Va. across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. where Miami native John Taylor, a former lieutenant-commander in the U.S. Coast Guard Service, wished to be buried, so his wife Linda and his nephew and Expos legend Andre Dawson made sure of that.

Taylor, 77, died Jan. 29 in Miami of acute myeloid leukemia and his first funeral service was held at Mt. Tabor Baptist Church in Miami Feb. 8 with Dawson one of the pallbearers.

Then Taylor's body was kept in cold storage for several months until Arlington officials could give Taylor’s family and Dawson an internment date in Arlington, a burial ground for approximately 400,000 veterans and their families.

On April 1, Taylor's body was shipped north by air cargo on a Delta Air Lines flight to Washington from Miami where Taylor had lived most of his life.

"It's a very prestigious honour to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery and we put time and effort into it to fulfill that for my uncle. We knew those were his wishes,'' Dawson said. "We were given a date for burial but it wasn't going to be right away. He didn't die in combat so we had to wait.''

Jim Lawson, a member of the ANC public affairs office, said "the funeral operation, funeral elements and grave marker are provided by the United States government and the military service branches,'' as a tribute to qualified people.

"So long as the service member is eligible for burial at Arlington National Cemetery, their funeral is scheduled and operated with government and military resources,'' Lawson said. "His (Taylor) funeral was conducted with military honors that included a Coast Guard casket team, firing party, and bugler.

“Transportation and or delivery of remains of retired personnel, veterans and their dependents from place of death to the cemetery are the responsibility of the next of kin. Urns and caskets used to house the remains are also the responsibility of the next of in. However, grave liners used in the burial process are provided by the government.’’

Attending the solemn but beautiful ceremony of 25 minutes on April 2 were Taylor's wife Linda, Taylor's daughter Shawntria, Taylor's friend Elvira Foxx, Taylor’s nieces Dominique and Shania Young, Dawson, his wife Vanessa, Dawson’s brother Vincent Brown, Dawson’s sister Gwendolyn Brown, Anthony Truesdale, a staffer at the Dawson-owned Paradise Memorial Funeral Home, and Karen Austin, a co-worker under Taylor's supervision when he was employed by Miami-Dade County.

ANC is closed to the public because of the COVID-19 pandemic but funerals such as Taylor’s are still held with social-distancing procedures in place. The Taylor-Dawson entourage was required to wear face coverings during the ceremony.

"We were able to handle the service at Arlington a bit better (than the one in Miami) but it was still emotional,'' Dawson said. “Vincent did the embalming and refrigeration after the initial service until we were able to get to Arlington.’’

Dawson recalled that when he was in his junior year at Florida A & M University in Tallahassee, Florida, he sat down with his uncle to get his opinion on whether he should sign with the Expos or continue his education.

"He gave me my blessing. He said, 'We will support you.' I didn't know what direction to go,'' Dawson said in an interview. "It was either continuing my education or go ahead and sign with the Expos.

"He was a father figure growing up pretty much. I would talk to him about life and making adjustments. He had my back. He meant so much to me. We always had a pretty special relationship. I could talk with him and reach out to him.''

When Taylor gave him his blessing, Dawson took a further step by meeting with his Florida A & M coach Costa Kittles to tell him he was signing with the Expos. That was 1975. Dawson, a member of both the Canadian and National baseball halls of fame, sure made a good decision.

All through Dawson’s tenure with the Expos, Taylor would come to Montreal and see his nephew play at least once a year.

Taylor obtained his bachelor's degree from Federal City College in Washington, D.C. and his master's degree from Florida International University in Miami. He spent 10 years in the U.S. air force overseas and stateside.

While Taylor was in his final year in the air force, the FBI came calling. He spent some initial time with the law enforcement agency in Washington before transferring to his home city for a total FBI run of about seven years.

Taylor later was employed by Miami-Dade County as assistant director of the South Florida Employment and Training Centre. Most recently, he had worked in the day-to-day operations and handled payroll duties at Dawson's funeral home.

For 25 years, Taylor was also a lieutenant-commander in the Coast Guard Service. He and Linda travelled the world and one of his favourite tourist spots was Shanghai. He loved taking the Maglev train from downtown Shanghai to the airport at 237 m.p.h.

Danny Gallagher's just-released Expos' book is called Always Remembered. It's available at indigo.ca or through email at exposbook2020@yahoo.com.