WILMINGTON — George William Bagby Taylor, 90, of Wilmington, died on October 29, 2026, with his family close by.
He was born April 16, 1936, in Richmond, Virginia, to Henry and Isabel Taylor. He earned his degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Virginia, then served in the United States Army at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Suzanne Zoppa was his first date. She was 15, and they were together from that day forward. They were married 68 years, and for most of them he called her “the boss.” To the family she was Mum, and he was Pop, a name he inherited from his father.
Whatever Pop did, he committed fully, and his work was no different. He spent 30 years at Philip Morris, starting as an engineer and rising to vice president of engineering. Along the way he solved problems nobody else had solved, and several of his solutions earned patents. Later in his career the company offered him a promotion that would have moved him to New York City. He turned it down and retired early in 1987. He and Mum then moved to Wilmington.
Retirement was not rest. He threw himself into Wilmington’s civic life, never looking for credit, only for impact, and many called him “the silent warrior.” He was board chair of the Cape Fear Community Foundation, the Food Bank of Coastal Carolina, Plantation Village, and the Figure Eight Island Homeowners Association. He was treasurer of the Cameron Art Museum and a board member of the North Carolina Aquarium. He coached business owners through SCORE, volunteered at Second Helpings and the Davis Community nursing home, and was a leader for over 30 years in the Senior Men’s Club of Wilmington. He was an active supporter of Good Shepherd House and Kids Making It. In 2001 the Wilmington Civitan Club presented him its highest honor, the Citizenship Award.
Pop understood how fortunate he was and how hard others had it, and he believed in second chances. He gave them, through the organizations he helped build, through programs that give children in underserved parts of town a chance to succeed, and through direct investment in many people over the years. When others saw someone’s past, Pop saw a person who deserved a chance, and he backed that belief with his time and his money.
His one real hobby was vintage cars, and his favorite was a 1923 Model T Woody that had sat in a barn on his grandfather’s farm until he found it with only parts of the body intact. He restored it to its original splendor and drove it, grandchildren aboard, in the Fourth of July and Azalea Festival parades. He owned others over the years, including a 1960 Corvette, but the Model T was the one he loved.
Pop was the patriarch of his family. He gave business and life advice, a hand when something broke (the benefit of an engineer in the family), and a strong back for his children’s many moves.
As a father he was a coach and an example to follow. As a grandfather and great-grandfather he was loving and devoted, committed to setting the youngest Taylors up for success in any way he could.
He is survived by his wife Suzanne and their three children: George Taylor Jr. and his wife Giselle, Frances Taylor, and Gordon Taylor and his wife Lori. His eight grandchildren are Kurt Taylor and his wife Anna, George Taylor III and his wife Spencer, Mary Parke Dunn and her husband Hanes, Gibbs McEachran and his fiancée Mary Scott, Samantha Taylor, Katherine Taylor, Enzo Rinaldi, and Mateo Rinaldi. His six great-grandchildren are Marshall, Emory, Louise, Addison, Taylor, and his newest namesake, George IV.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Isabel Taylor; his sister, Alice Spillman; and his brother, Henry.
A service will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at St. James Church’s Lebanon Chapel, 300 Airlie Road, Wilmington. The Rev. Phillip Craig will officiate. A reception will follow.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Good Shepherd House or Kids Making It.
