BATH, Maine — William Launay Taylor, 77, passed away on April 26, 2021, at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, Maine. He was born on Jan. 4, 1944, in Portland, Maine, a son of William Dee and Mary (Robinson) Taylor.
Bill was a 1961 graduate of Montpelier High School in Vermont. He then graduated from Tufts University in Medford, Mass., in 1966 with a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering. Following graduation, the next day he was designated a U. S. Navy Ensign and proceeded to Naval Flight School in Pensacola, Fla. On June 22, 1967, he returned to Vermont to marry his wife, Betty Lathrop of Bristol, Vt.
For the next twenty years (five years active duty and 15 years in the Fleet Reserves), Bill was a Navy Pilot who enjoyed flying his beloved P-3 Orion on missions around the Mediterranean Sea, the North Atlantic Ocean, and the Northern Polar Cap. He retired from the Fleet Reserve as a U.S. Navy Commander on the U.S.S. Constitution in Boston Harbor, where he began his naval career twenty years before.
In 1989 Bill established and owned William L. Taylor and Associates, a compensation and human resource consulting company serving Northern New England hospitals and businesses for many years. In the meantime, he spent many years with Betty restoring their home on North Street and raising their family.
Bill home-built and flew a Corben Jr. Ace experimental airplane, which was the delight of his life.  He loved to fly his family and friends over the mid coast area of Maine and New Hampshire, and even made it to Vermont and back one summer. He was a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association since 1966 and was a past president of the Local Chapter 87.
He restored two antique automobiles to originality and successfully competed at national shows, earning top recognition in their classes. He was a longtime member of the Model A Club of America, the Model A Ford Club of America, the V-8 Ford Club of America, and the Antique Automobile Club of America.
He enjoyed the fellowship at both the Bath Area Senior Citizens and the Bath Brunswick Respite Care. Above all else, Bill was a loving husband, dad, grandfather, and friend to many who knew him.
Bill was predeceased by his parents and a daughter, Stephanie Ann. He leaves behind his wife, Betty, of 54 years; two daughters, Daphne Williamson and her husband Jon of Vienna, Va., and Robyn Almquist and her husband Eric of Sykesville, Md.; one sister, Karen Taylor of Canton, Mass.; two brothers, Jeffrey Taylor and his wife Renee of Doylestown, Pa., and Jonathan Taylor of Washington D.C.; mother-in-law Ruth Lathrop of Middlebury, Vt.; two sisters-in-law, Carolyn Besaw of Las Vegas, Nev., and Patricia Utley and her husband Gayle of St. Albans, Vt; two brothers-in-law, James Lathrop and his wife Claire of Rogersville, Tenn., and Thomas Lathrop and his wife Pam of Bristol, Vt.; four grandchildren, Ethan, Owen, Nicole and Naomi; several nephews, nieces and one aunt, Emily Taylor of Orono, Maine.
A future placing of cremains in Bristol, Vt., will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Bath Brunswick Respite Care, P.O. Box 668, Bath, ME 04530 or Bath Area Senior Citizens, 45 Floral Street, Bath, ME 04530.
Arrangements are by Daigle Funeral Home, 819 High Street, Bath, ME.  Condolences may be made online at Daiglefuneralhome.com.
While Bill’s passing came too soon, April 26 was a perfect day for his last flight and he will be greatly missed.◊