Tim S. Taylor

November 30, 1959 - November 8, 2020

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Tim S. Taylor was born Nov. 30, 1959 in Berea, Ohio to James and Ruth Taylor. He grew up in Columbia Station, Ohio, outside Cleveland. He died at home Nov. 8, 2020 in Port Townsend, Washington after a brief struggle with cancer.

Tim attended Columbia High School, graduating in 1978, and Ohio State University where he received undergraduate degrees in history and philosophy with a minor in mathematics. He was especially interested in military history, strategy and tactics, game theory, role-playing games and board games. He was a lover of eclectic music. He greatly enjoyed sharing his music with friends and found joy in introducing people to board games of all sorts as well as role playing.

In the 1990s Tim worked as a disc jockey at WICR radio station in Indianapolis where he hosted radio shows including “Time Without Meaning,” featuring music he mixed live in the studio, and “Around the World in 60 Minutes.” Tim also worked as a proofreader and layout tech at Macmillan Publishing in Indianapolis.

A Tibetan Buddhist, Tim volunteered many hours at the Tibetan Cultural Center in Bloomington, Indiana. He was a close friend of Thubten J. Norbu, a Tibetan lama and refugee from Chinese oppression in Tibet. Tim served for several years as Prof. Norbu’s personal secretary, writing articles, letters and speeches for him.

Tim arrived in Port Townsend, Washington in 1999. He volunteered for a year at the Port Townsend Public Library and worked at Ravenstone Tiles, an art tile company in town. He was also a writer and game designer. Tim designed and published several war games, wrote books and articles, created a deck of Tarot cards inspired by a dream, and wrote fantasy role-playing modules.

In the last couple years of his life he went by the name “Crow” and dressed all in black. He had many friends in the area and gave Tarot readings which seemed uncannily accurate, at the Cellar Door in downtown Port Townsend.

Tim/Crow was preceded in death by his father James Taylor. He is survived by his mother Ruth Taylor; sisters Tammy Taylor and Toni Cassidy; brothers-in-law Pete Wieneke and Ed Cassidy; three nieces and three nephews; and his long-time friend and housemate Laura Reutter.