Obituary: Deems Jan ‘DJ’ Taylor
Deems Jan “DJ” Taylor died on Dec. 17, 2021, in Wichita, Kan.
Deems Jan “DJ” Taylor died on Dec. 17, 2021, in Wichita, Kan.
DJ was born on Oct. 21, 1934, in Everett, Mass. to the late Paul and Mildred Taylor. Following high school, he served in the U.S. Navy as an Electrician’s Mate on a sonar training vessel. He graduated from the University of Miami with a BS in engineering.
DJ spent his entire professional career of forty-five years with Boeing. He had a seat at launch control at Cape Canaveral/Kennedy. Some of the notable projects on which he worked during his time with Boeing were the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo mission launch sites and capsules; performing computer testing and verification on the Minuteman III missile system; writing software for computerized testing of rockets during their manufacture and assembly; and writing diagnostic monitoring software that verified rocket readiness up to three minutes before launch.
After the Apollo program ended, DJ worked on various defense projects. Some of these were AWACS radar systems; the SNECMA engine upgrade system for military Boeing 707 aircraft; Air Force One; SR71 Blackbird anti-tracking system; and the B-52 bomber.
DJ loved tinkering with cars, attending air shows, completing all kinds of home projects, watching sports (especially football) and police/crime shows on TV, and he and Nancy loved to take cruises all over the world.
DJ was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy Spradling, and his brother Robert. He is survived by his children, Gayl (Gary) Struletz, Wayne (Nora) Taylor and Steven Taylor; stepdaughter, Melissa Woods (Steve Guiot); grandchildren, Jessica (Jon) Storer, Joshua, Jason, Andrew, and Ashley Strultetz, Adam Taylor, Marissa (Dan) Hemy and Spencer Woods; and great-grandchildren Aiden and Finley Storer.
Funeral services were held at 10:00 a.m. on Jan. 21 at the Kansas Veterans Cemetery in Winfield, Kan.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in DJ’s name to The American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 7023, Merrifield, VA 22116-7023 (or www.diabetes.org) or Serenity Hospice Care, 3221 North Toben Street, Wichita, KS 67206.
- Obituaries
- Obituary
- Lifecycle
- Lifecycles
- Deems Jan “DJ” Taylor
- Paul and Mildred Taylor
- Nancy Spradling
- Robert Taylor
- Gayl and Gary Struletz
- Wayne and Nora Taylor
- Steven Taylor
- Melissa Woods
- Steve Guiot
- Jessica and Jon Storer
- Joshua Strultetz
- Jason Strultetz
- Andrew Strultetz
- Ashley Strultetz
- Adam Taylor
- Marissa and Dan Hemy
- Spencer Woods
- Aiden Storer
- Finley Storer
- U.S. Navy
- Electrician’s Mate
- sonar training vessel
- Boeing
- University of Miami
- launch control
- Cape Canaveral
- Kennedy Space Center
- Mercury mission
- Gemini mission
- Apollo mission
- AWACS radar systems
- SNECMA engine
- military Boeing 707 aircraft
- Air Force One
- SR71 Blackbird anti-tracking system
- B-52 bomber
- Kansas Veterans Cemetery
- Winfield Kansas
- American Diabetes Association
- Serenity Hospice Care
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