Merritt Taylor

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Merritt E. Taylor, 69, of Advance died Sunday, Oct. 23, 2005, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau.

He was born Dec. 23, 1935, in Kansas City, Kan., son of Earl and Ida Ellard Taylor. He and Mary Cudd were married on January 22, 1982, in Advance.

Taylor was a retired farmer. He was a veteran of the Korean War and served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper.

Survivors include his wife; three sons, Robin Taylor of Fort Hood, Texas, John Dee Taylor and Billy Taylor, both of Advance; four daughters, Ida Jo Crooms of Advance, Laurel Ann Dunlap of Lewisburg, Mo., Nikki Davis of Wappapello, Mo., and Brenda Yeager of Elk, Wash.; three step-sons, Jackie Payne and David Payne, both of Advance and Billy Payne of Richland, Mo.; four step-daughters, Janet Burnett of Sikeston, Virgie Cloninger and Ginger Hewitt, both of Advance and Mary Loomis of DeSota, Mo.; a brother, Walter Taylor of Meridian, Miss.; a sister, Nancy Kivett of Fosterburg; two half-sisters, Sharon Short of Elsa, Ill., and Anita Givens of Gloster, Va.; 18 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a step-son and two grandchildren.

Friends may call from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Morgan Funeral Home in Advance.

Funeral will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Morgan Funeral Chapel in Advance. Interment will follow in the Morgan Memorial Park in Advance.