Santa Rosa, CA – Benjamin Russell Taylor passed away on September 15, 2026.
Ben was born May 18, 1934, to William and Phebe Taylor, in Boston, MA. He grew up on two family farms in Millis, Massachusetts and Peterborough, New Hampshire.
Ben loved to fly fish and travelled far and wide in pursuit of his favorite past-time, which included trips to New Zealand (12 times), British Columbia (many times), Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Iceland, Costa Rica, the Bahamas, Oregon, Washington, Maine, Massachusetts (Nantucket Island) and the Florida Keys. He also fished in his favorite water, the beautiful Smith River on the North Coast of California. There he spent many retirement years working with California state agencies to protect and conserve the river and it’s fish so they may be enjoyed by future generations.
Also, in retirement, Ben managed to write two books: The first was entitled George Owen Knapp, A Splendid Secret. It was about his great-grandfather, founder of the Union Carbide Company. The second book, I Know Bill Schaadt, was about the life of a friend, who was also one of the most renowned fly fishermen who ever lived.
In 1952, Ben graduated from Noble and Greenough Preparatory School, Dedham, Massachusetts. He loved sports more than studying and played on the undefeated 1951 football team. Ben attended Dartmouth College, graduating in 1956, and threw the javelin for the track team. After graduating from college, Ben spent two years in the Army, stationed in Germany. Upon discharge he went to work for the Armstrong Cork Company as a salesman in New York City. In 1961, Ben and his Army reserve unit were called back to active duty, stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. While there he became a paratrooper, making five jumps to earn his “wings.”
Soon after his discharge and return to New York City, Ben left Armstrong and joined the Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company (MHT), a large NYC bank. After leaving MHT for a five-year hitch with a bank in Boston, Ben went back to work for MHT in 1973. MHT asked him to help open a branch in Los Angeles. He changed jobs again in 1978 to join the Crocker Bank in San Francisco. Crocker was eventually bought by Wells Fargo in
1986. After 12 years with Wells, Ben retired in 1998 and moved from SF to Santa Rosa, CA. He has lived there ever since.
Mr. Taylor married late in life to Nancy Wilson of Hawaii. They were together for 28 years until she passed away in 2012, a victim of ovarian cancer. They had no children.
He is survived by his sister, Laurie Gardos of Wilmington, North Carolina, and other relatives in New Hampshire and Maine.
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