Larry Gene Taylor (August 7, 1953 – July 6, 2005) was an American politician and businessman who served as a member of both chambers of the

Missouri General Assembly The Missouri General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Senate and a 163-member House of Representatives. Members of both houses of the General Assembly are ...

Early life and education

Taylor was born in

Carthage, Missouri Carthage is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 15,522 as of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Jasper County and is nicknamed "America's Maple Leaf City." History Jasper County was formed in 1841. ...

, the son of Dorothy Taylor and the late Missouri congressman, Gene Taylor. He was a graduate of Sarcoxie High School and went on to

Missouri Southern State University Missouri Southern State University (Missouri Southern, MSSU, or MoSo) is a public university in Joplin, Missouri. It was established in 1937 as Joplin Junior College. The university enrolled 4,346 students in Fall 2021. History Missouri Southern ...

Career

Taylor was the youngest delegate at the

1972 Republican National Convention The 1972 Republican National Convention was held from August 21 to August 23, 1972 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida. It nominated President Richard M. Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew for reelection. The conve ...

. He owned an automobile dealership, Gene Taylor Ford and Sales, and was an automobile and boat wholesaler. He was first elected to the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

in 2002 and elected to the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 174,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two ye ...

in 2004.

Personal life

He was married to Gay Taylor, and had three children, Charles, Chelsea, and Jaime. He attended the First Baptist Church in Cassville, Missouri, and was an active member of the local Lions International Club. He was a resident of

Shell Knob, Missouri Shell Knob is a census-designated place (CDP) located within White River Township, Barry County, Missouri. The population was 1,254 at the 2020 census. The Stone County portion of Shell Knob is part of the Branson, Missouri Micropolitan Statist ...

. Taylor died in

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper and Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. Joplin is the largest city located within both Jas ...

in 2005.

References

1953 births 2005 deaths People from Shell Knob, Missouri Republican Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Republican Party Missouri state senators Missouri Southern State University alumni American automobile salespeople 20th-century American legislators People from Carthage, Missouri {{Missouri-politician-stub