Allen "Al" B. Taylor '54 was a running back on the University of Wichita's Shocker football team, before graduating with a bachelor's degree in physical education and going into military service with the U.S. Army.
Commissioned in the Army as a second lieutenant of infantry, Taylor graduated from the U.S. Army Aviation School and became a pilot qualified in rotary and fixed wing aircraft and as a CV-2 Caribou Aircraft instructor. He served in the 101st Airborne Division on a team that helped pioneer air assault tactics. After two tours of duty in Vietnam and posts at numerous locations around the world, his last assignment in 1971 took him to Fort Huachuca in Arizona, where he retired from the Army in 1974.
He then began a career in education, first teaching at Smith Middle School, Fort Huachuca and then at Buena High School, Sierra Vista, Ariz. He earned a master's degree in counseling at the University of Arizona and then pursued his dream job – coaching football. Coach Taylor retired from teaching and coaching football at Buena High in 1987.
After retirement, he was an avid fisherman and loved to travel, making several trips around the world with family and friends. "Al was always proud to be a Shocker," writes his wife Joyce, who adds that he enjoyed being a member of the alumni association and receiving its alumni magazine.
He died Aug. 24, 2013, in Sierra Vista, Ariz.
