Robert Tillman Taylor, Jr.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Patricia “Patty” (Fugitt) Taylor; his children, Bethani Taylor, Marsha Taylor, Robert Taylor and wife Andrea, and Christopher Fleming and wife Meredith; his grandchildren, Lindsay Higdon, Jacob Taylor, Taylor Paxson, Jake Paxson, Quinn Taylor, Noah Taylor, Brayden Fleming, and Cameron Fleming; and his great-grandchildren, Abigail Cannon, Avalon Fairfield, and Emersyn Fairfield.

Robert served four years in the United States Air Force. Following his military service, he continued his education at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, where he earned his degrees and began what would become a lifelong commitment to education.

Robert was a teacher not simply by profession, but by nature. His career included teaching and serving for a year as principal of Gentry Elementary School in Gentry, Arkansas. He later returned to Tahlequah and Northeastern State University, where he taught education and literacy courses and helped prepare generations of students for careers as educators.

Even as he devoted his career to teaching others, Robert remained a student himself. While working at Northeastern, he made the drive from Tahlequah to Stillwater several evenings each week to continue his education at Oklahoma State University, ultimately earning his Doctor of Education (Ed.D.).

He never quit teaching, and he never quit learning.

For a time, Robert regularly met a group of friends for morning coffee. One day, after most of the group had left, an elderly friend confided in him that one of his greatest regrets was never having learned to read. For the next several weeks, Robert stayed behind after the others left and taught his friend to read. There was no classroom or title involved—just someone who wanted to learn and Robert, who never stopped being a teacher.

Robert loved books and had a deep respect for the written word. He loved reading the Bible, and above all else, his Christian faith was at the center of his life. Of all the lessons he taught over a lifetime devoted to education, his family knows that those he considered most important were about Jesus. He passed his faith to his children and grandchildren not only through what he taught them, but through the way he lived, loved, served, and gave of himself to others.

Robert was a friend and adviser to many. He was dependable, patient, faithful, helpful, and true to his word. He wanted the best for the people around him and took tremendous pride in his family, friends, and students while remaining remarkably humble about his own accomplishments. He gave generously of his knowledge and, perhaps even more importantly, of his time.

His family remembers that time in countless ways. When his children were young, Robert would pull a chair into the hallway at bedtime and play his guitar as they fell asleep. Sometimes he sang, but more often he simply played. He gave his children a love of music, reading and learning, and most importantly, a love of Jesus.

He also gave them a love of laughter—and an impressive collection of dad jokes. Robert had a wonderful sense of humor, could be wonderfully silly, and loved to laugh. His children remember him as the original master of the dad joke, a tradition that has survived quite successfully into another generation.

His grandchildren remember summers and holidays with Papa and Grandma filled with work and adventure—hauling hay, building fences, mowing, exploring the woods, early-morning breakfast runs, laughter, and lessons learned along the way. He taught them practical skills and life lessons and, as he had with his own children, shared with them the faith that guided his life.

Even another generation benefited from Papa’s lessons. He introduced his great-granddaughter Abigail to the joy of horses, taking her out to visit Big Bud and helping foster her love for them.

Robert and Patty shared a love of animals and spent many years raising and training rescue dogs. Those closest to Robert knew how fiercely he loved Patty, and her devoted care for him through his final years was another reflection of the love they shared.

For all Robert accomplished—the military service, degrees, years as an educator, doctorate, and university career—he was never defined by the titles that came before or after his name. To those who loved him, he was Dad, Papa, Toby, husband, teacher, mentor, adviser, and friend. He could be wise and silly, patient and occasionally stubborn, accomplished yet humble.

Most of all, Robert loved his family and loved Jesus.

He spent a lifetime teaching, but perhaps his greatest lessons were taught outside a classroom—in a hallway with a guitar, over morning coffee, working alongside a grandchild, caring for an animal, sharing a laugh, opening a Bible, or simply giving someone his time.

His lessons and his love will live on in his family, in the educators he helped prepare, and in the many people whose lives are different because Robert Taylor was part of them.

A memorial celebrating Robert’s life was be held Saturday, September 12, 2026, at First United Methodist Church, Tahlequah, Oklahoma.