Loren Graig Taylor was born on a Sunday morning, March 18, 1945 at the Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah. His parents, Morris H. and Beth H. Taylor, made it to the hospital and checked in, but Graig was in a rush and arrived before the doctor could be summoned. After living his life with zest and courage, Graig passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Monday, December 12, 2022 of heart failure. We miss him, but are grateful for his incredible faith in Jesus Christ and testimony of the eternal nature of our beings. We look forward to the day we are reunited with him and grateful for our knowledge of the plan of salvation.

How do you describe Graig? Graig was loving, bright and full of fun, and always a hard worker. He loved music and theater. In high school and college, he sang with his older brothers in a quartet that performed throughout Cache Valley. Graig was cast as fun-loving Will in the high school musical Oklahoma along with his brother Gary, who was cast as Curley. Graig went all out and shaved his head for his part as the King in the King and I . Graig was a happy soul and well-liked by others, and was elected student body president of North Cache High School for the 1962-63 school year.

Graig had a wide variety of work and educational experiences in his life. His father put Graig and his siblings to work raising calves, sheep, and thousands of broiler chickens to earn their own money. He started working for others as a young boy, helping neighbors with their farm chores of hauling hay and milking cows. After graduating from Utah State University, he worked for General Electric and Olson Farms, and he was project engineer for Kennecott Copper Mines at Eureka. He then worked his way up to become President of the Salt Lake office of Sohio Oil, Kennecott's parent company. While he was working for Kennecott, he used some of his evenings to earn his Master's in Business Administration from the University of Utah. Graig later went on to become a valuable executive in many roles at Novell.

Graig had a deep and enduring testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and served as a missionary in the Australia Adelaide Mission 1964-66. Sometime after his mission, his mother Beth introduced him to Bonnie Harris, who had just completed her degree in nursing at BYU, through the Navy program. Beth was a nurse and she and Bonnie bonded immediately.   After dating for a short while, Graig and Bonnie married in the Logan Temple, April 2, 1968. They have been happily married 54 years. Five children were born to their marriage: Peter, Todd, Kristin, Alison, and Heather.

Graig loved serving in a wide variety of callings in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout his life, including his service as Bishop in the Orem 3rd ward from 1980 to 1984; as a Branch President in the Provo Missionary Training Center for the ASL and deaf missionaries in the mid-1980s; and as a senior missionary with his wife, Bonnie H. Taylor in the California Roseville Mission from 1999- 2000. His favorite calling was as a Ministering Brother. He loved to serve his neighbors in every way possible.

Graig was legally blind nearly 30 years with retinitis pigmentosa. He made the very best of a difficult life challenge. He navigated airports, difficult hikes and public areas with his trusted white stick, whom he called Lizzie. His diminished vision did not impede his ability to remember numbers, recognize friends' voices, nor his vision for the different projects he became involved in. Graig had wonderful friends and family that would chauffeur him to the temple, on errands, and other places. Graig had an amazing ability to remember maps he had once seen and to know where he was geographically when traveling. He memorized everything that was in his kitchen, his shop and the common areas he navigated on a daily basis. He loved his flower and vegetable garden and would plant countless annuals and bulbs each year. He was an ace pruner and tended Bonnie's roses with great care.

In 1994, when his blindness encroached on his ability to work at Novell, he retired. But he did not stop working. Graig then focused his energy on serving and making a difference in the lives of others. Graig went on to make truly remarkable contributions to the lives of many people.. Graig served as chairman of United Way of Utah County for many years. He helped create and fundraise for a foundation that helped thousands of low-income people in Utah County purchase their own home. He was instrumental in fundraising for Kids On the Move, a program for special needs children. Graig was proud of his pioneer heritage, and helped create the Hole in the Rock Foundation in 2006. The HIRF works to preserve the pioneer trail and share the stories of these faithful Saints. This Foundation re-created Bluff Fort in Bluff, Utah, and built pioneer cabins, a coop store, a log meetinghouse, and a relief society building to bring to life their stories. Graig loved being the catalyst to get a project started for the people he loved and wanted to help. Instilling in his children a love of helping others is something he found very rewarding.

Graig loved to travel, and did not let his diminished vision curb that desire. His favorite travel companion was Bonnie. He took her on countless business trips. While Graig was in his business meetings, Bonnie would go sightseeing in the town. At the end of the day, they would reunite and relate the adventures of the day.

He visited many places with Bonnie and his family including Australia, Europe, the Holy Land, Ecuador, Brazil, Guatemala, Africa, and Hawaii. Graig loved hiking and seeing the wonders of the world with family and friends. He visited Africa multiple times on safari. His favorite time was when he went with family to Kenya. He went to Sweden to visit his ancestral homeland. He hiked the Inca Trail in Peru to Machu Picchu. He climbed Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in California. He hiked to the wonderful waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon and marveled at the different sounds each waterfall made. He hiked near the Grand Canyon to Havasu Falls with its incredible turquoise-colored waterfalls. He hiked in many areas of Southern Utah, including Grand Gulch, Angel's Arch, and Coyote Gulch; and he went hiking most Saturdays in the canyons east of his home. On many of his hikes, his dear friend, Lamar Helquist, was his personal guide.

Graig was everybody's best friend. Graig shared his stories, his insights into the scriptures, his testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel, and the things he learned from the over 8,000 audio books he listened to, with family, friends, neighbors, and all he met. Graig was also an amazing and compassionate listener. He listened with his heart and sensed the feelings of those who spoke to him. He loved us all with empathy and understanding.

Graig loved serving in the temple, and he made a commitment to the Lord to serve as often as he could. He loved doing baptisms for the dead the best, especially if a grandchild was in the font with him. He looked for every opportunity to share feelings and insights he gained there and his passion for the temple.

Loving and serving his family was his favorite pastime. His favorite place to be was with his family. He loved visiting the homes of his children and roughhousing, playing in the pool, and singing funny songs with his grandchildren. He was everybody's best cheerleader and his grandchildren's best friend. He loved everyone unconditionally.

He always said, "Life is an adventure and oh, how I love this adventure called life!" And he lived that way.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Bonnie Jean Harris Taylor; his children: Peter (and his wife, Wendy), Todd (and his wife, Nikki), Kristin (and her husband, Aaron Spencer), Alison (and her husband, Steven Jones), and Heather (and her husband, David Brinkerhoff); and his grandchildren: Ariana (and her husband, Todd Kingsolver), Myla, Mack, Brody, Kate, Nathan, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Susan, Luke, Tyler Charles, Ethan, Eric, Anika, Joseph, Hannah, Lily, and twin granddaughters, scheduled for delivery on December 20, 2022 to Heather and Dave. Graig was especially excited to see and be with these new twin girls, and we believe he has gone ahead for a preview and hugs.

Graig is preceded in death by his parents, Morris H. and Beth H. Taylor, and his older brother Gary L. Taylor. His four surviving siblings are Gordon M. (and wife Susan), Genan (and her husband Wayne J. Anderson), Grant P. (and his wife Nina), and Mary Gay (and her husband W. Stan Jones), and his sister in law, Dixie L. Taylor.

A viewing will be held on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 from 6 to 8 pm and on Thursday, December 22, 2022 from 9 am to 10:30 am. Both will be at the Heatheridge Stake Center, 450 East 200 South, Lindon, Utah.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, December 22, 2022 at 11 am at the Heatheridge Stake Center, 450 East 200 South, Lindon, Utah. Funeral service provider is Wing Mortuary of Lehi, Utah.

Interment will be at the Orem Cemetery, where he loved to walk every morning.

The video streaming link to the funeral is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwzvSSj1UfE

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donating to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Humanitarian Fund ℅ LDS Philanthropies, 1450 N. University Ave., Provo, UT 84604; Library for the Blind, 250 N 1950 W, Suite A, Salt Lake City, Utah 84116; Utah State Council for the Blind, 250 N. 1950 W., Salt Lake City, Utah 84116, or The Moran Eye Center, 65 N Mario Capecchi Dr., Salt Lake City, Utah 841112.