John Taylor

John Wesley Taylor

John Taylor, 31, passed away on October 7 th in Frisco, CO. John was born in Raleigh, NC on October 14, 1991, and grew up in Wake Forest, NC. John had a personality larger than life and never met anyone that didn’t call him friend. His smile and sense of humor were infectious, and he loved to dance and celebrate the successes and joys of all around him.

As a youth in the Boy Scouts of America, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout, stood his Vigil in the Order of the Arrow and competed in national dance, ceremony and drum competitions. He served two terms as Lodge Chief (Youth President) of the Order of the Arrow, Occoneechee Lodge 104. He attended South Granville High School before transferring to and graduating from the North Carolina School of Science and Math in 2010.

John then attended North Carolina State University and earned a Batchelor of Science in Biological Engineering in 2015. While at NC State, he helped to reestablish Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, where he served as Noble Ruler and Chaplain.

After graduation, John took a job with Janssen Pharmaceutical and moved to Philadelphia where he started his career as a pharmaceutical research scientist. John then began working on a Master of Science in Biochemical Engineering at Villanova University, completing it in 2020. At the same time, he began working for Millipore Sigma, as a process development scientist, developing next generation biotherapeutic process optimization.

John is survived by his fiancé Gina DeFrancisco and their 3 cats, Brienne of Tarth, Podrick Payne and Arya Stark of Abington, Pennsylvania, his parents, Jay and Diane Taylor of Wake Forest, his brother Dylan and wife Gretchen of Caldwell, NC, his grandmother Peggy Taylor of Tarboro, NC, uncles Gray Taylor (Ginger) of Tarboro, Michael Taylor (Cindy) of Washington, NC, Dwight Ehrlichman (Gaylen) of Asheville, NC, Pete Vuncannon of Jackson Springs, NC along with many loving aunts, uncles and cousins. John was preceded in death by his grandparents, David A. Ehrlichman and Gloria S Ehrlichman, MD of Clinton, NC and James I Taylor, Jr., of Tarboro, uncle David J. Ehrlichman of South Haven, MS and aunt Beverly Taylor of Jackson Springs.

John will be buried in a private graveside ceremony at Bluestem Cemetery in Cedar Grove, NC on October 17 at 2 PM. A celebration of life gathering is being planned for a later date.

In lieu of flowers the family is asking that memorial gifts be made to Bluestem Community Fund, 1900 Hurdle Mills Road, Cedar Grove, NC, 27231 or online at Bluestem Conservation Cemetery (https://www.bluestemcemetery.org/) .