Page 8 - Salesianum - Winter 2019

WHERE MODERN MEN BEGIN
John H. Taylor ’61
ohn grew up in the Highlands neighborhood, attended St. Ann School and graduated from Salesianum School
in 1961. He earned a B.A. in Philosophy from The University of Toronto (St. Michael’s College) in 1965, and an M.A. in Liberal Studies from the University of Delaware in 1995.
After graduating, John taught English and History at St. Mary’s Secondary School in Tilbury, England for one year. He returned to the U.S. in June of 1966 and settled in Wilmington, where he was hired as a reporter by The Wilmington News Journal. He left the newspaper in 1968 to serve as assistant to the superintendent of the Wilmington Public Schools until 1971, at which time he returned to The News Journal, where he remained for 37 years. John began as an obituary writer and reporter, and later became the News Journal’s Metropolitan Editor, overseeing all newsroom operations for several years. He then served as Deputy Editor for four years, before becoming the Editorial Page Editor for the next 22 years. Many recognize him as the author of a weekly column called “Close to Home,” which ran for many years until his retirement from the paper in 2005.
The next chapter of John’s career brought him to the Delaware Public Policy Institute, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization established to conduct research and encourage study and discussions of policies, programs and issues affecting the state of Delaware. This gave him the opportunity to directly shape policy on issues he had previously championed as a journalist. He served for nine years as Senior Vice President of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and Executive Director of the Delaware Public Policy Institute.
During his career, John was recognized with several local and national awards for his writing and community service, including the Maryland Delaware Press Association Best Editorial Award (1984, 1989), the Delaware State Education Association Helen Wise Friend of
Education Award (1996), the Associated Press Mark Twain Award (1993, 2002, 2003 and 2004), the United Way of Delaware Chairman’s Award (1999), the Common Cause of Delaware Open Government Award (2010), Delaware Futures Haskell-Wyeth Award (2010), and Delaware State Chamber
of Commerce Dick DiSabatino Award (2013). John’s most recent and cherished award was the Order of the First State, the highest honor a Delaware Governor can bestow, which was presented to him at home on March 31, 2015 by Governor Jack Markell. He was an active and devoted member and leader
of the National Conference of Editorial Writers (NCEW).
He served as President of its Board of Directors, Editor of its quarterly journal, The Masthead, and President of the NCEW Foundation Board of Trustees.
In 2016, the John H. Taylor, Jr. Education Leadership Award was established by The Partnership Inc., an affiliate of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. The John H. Taylor,
Jr. award recognizes someone within the community who has provided sustained leadership in advancing Delaware education and who, by doing so, has also made the community a better place in which to live and work. Honored posthumously.
6 DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN | Winter 2019