CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — When U.S. Army Maj. Brent Taylor received orders to leave on his fourth deployment to the Middle East in January 2018, he didn’t hesitate. The North Ogden mayor’s loyalty to God, family and country led him to serve whenever and however he could.
“Military service involves the entire family, and my family is proud to be a military family,” he explained to constituents via Facebook before leaving to Afghanistan on what was to be a year-long deployment. “My good wife has supported my military service since the moment we walked together into the recruiting office to enlist in the Army three days after our engagement, almost 15 years ago.”
On Nov. 3, 2018, Taylor was killed in action, and life for his wife, Jennie, and seven young children seemed to have flipped upside down, changing their family forever.
In memory of Taylor and in honor of other veterans, Spilsbury Mortuary invites the community to a special Nov. 11 Veterans Day celebration, “Freedom Is Not Free,” to hear Jennie Taylor’s story of family and commitment to America.
According to a press release from Spilsbury Mortuary, Jennie met Brent Taylor on a blind date when she returned from a full-time mission to Chile for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Within nine months, they were married, and the couple dedicated their lives to serving others for the next 15 years.
In the months since her husband’s shocking death, Jennie Taylor has unexpectedly and frequently found herself in a position to speak about the price of freedom, the value of community support and the healing that can be found when moving forward with a conviction to find hope and happiness — in spite of life’s heartache and pain.
She has said her love for current events and politics runs at least as deep as her husband’s, and along these lines, she recently founded the Leadership Legacy Foundation in Brent Taylor’s honor. The foundation works toward three pillars: facilitating the training and education of service-oriented leaders, providing support to local military families and creating opportunities for community engagement through cultural arts events.
“I’m the skilled ringmaster of our family circus,” she said in the press release. “We really are a traveling circus.”
The Veterans Day event featuring Jennie Taylor will begin at 2 p.m. on Nov. 11 in Spilsbury Mortuary’s chapel with a flag ceremony performed by American Legion Lester Keate Post 90. Spilsbury Mortuary is located at 110 S. Bluff St., St. George.
Written by ANDREW PINCKNEY, St. George News.
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Resources
- Spilsbury Mortuary St. George location | Address: 110 S. Bluff St., St. George | Telephone: 435-673-2454 | Website.
- Hurricane location | Address: 25 N. 2000 West, Hurricane | Telephone: 435-635-2212.
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