#TaylorStrong: Family, friends strive to honor Mark Taylor

By Mike Ramczyk

Sports Editor

Lynn Taylor only calls family meetings to discuss important issues.

So on Sept. 8, when her sons Trent and Tell were home from college and daughter Teagan was home, Lynn organized this meeting so son Ty could Skype with the family from his military post in South Korea.

This wasn’t a meeting to go over table manners or household chores, it was in effect a meeting that would change the family forever.

Lynn and husband Mark Taylor stood in their Burlington home and informed their four children, ranging from ages 16 to 23, that Mark was suffering from cancer.

The esophageal cancer was already stage 4, and time was of the essence. But instead of wallowing and seeking pity, Mark stayed strong, Taylor Strong, when he spoke to his children.

“I will not be your detterant,” he told them with love. “I will be your motivator.”

It was this kind of selfless, caring attitude that embodied Mark, an athletic, hard-working father, coach and husband who was at his happiest when his family was happy.

“He wanted them to not stop what they were doing and remain on their path,” Lynn said Monday night. “Our children have done that well. I can’t fathom what they’re going through.”

Mark passed away only two months later, on the morning of Dec. 9, at the age of 50, exactly one week after coming home from the hospital for the last time.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, after enduring two surgeries and excruciating pain from fractures in his back, Mark softly told his wife, “I want to go home.”

“He was thrilled to be home,” Lynn recalled. “But he had very little time to enjoy it. It got rough right away. The hospice said it was a ‘fast and furious’ cancer.”

Ironically, the cancer took on the same personality as Mark, fast and furious, according to Lynn.

Mark lived life to the fullest whether he was running a marathon, driving across country for work, going on family vacations or pulling shenanigans from the sideline while coaching youth and traveling basketball.

A Platteville native, Mark was a five-sport athlete in high school. He was all-state in football and track and also played golf, basketball and baseball. Both Mark and Lynn played sports collegiately, so it’s no wonder their kids are athletically inclined.

The oldest sibling of four, including Lance (49), Beth (48) and Brad (46), Mark loved playing sports with his family growing up.

“Our mom was a musician, and our dad was into sports,” said sister Beth Reetz, who now resides in Burlington. “Mark was a phenomenal athlete. When he coached, he took kids all over the United States to play.”

Beth spent just about every day with her brother when he came home for his last week. She would walk him around the neighborhood, sometimes up to two miles. Mark stayed positive throughout, never letting cancer crush his spirit.

“He would spend all that time talking about how proud he was of his kids even though he was in horrible pain,” Beth said.

Despite Mark’s strength, Beth still can’t believe her big brother is gone.

“It was a devastating diagnosis,” she said. “I’m so proud of his wife and family. Lynn went into coach mode and was by his side non-stop. It brought me comfort knowing he was surrounded by so much love.”

Beth’s husband Dan was great friends with Mark and even worked with him at Ocean Spray in Kenosha.

The Taylors lived in Burlington, moved to Michigan and returned to Burlington for Ty’s senior year and have been here ever since, almost seven years now.

The Taylor and Reetz families go on vacations together up north and enjoy boating together. Mark loved to golf with Dan.

“All of our families are very close,” Beth said. “We miss him dearly. He had a strong personality. Mark had an opinion and let you know how he felt.”

An unexpected injury

For the last few years, Mark had stepped away from coaching youth sports, with his kids in high school and college.

He was working with Sildan Containers in Oconomowoc, a 45-minute drive, and using his spare time to watch Teagan play volleyball, Tell play baseball at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and see Trent and Ty as much as possible.

The Taylors love having friends visit the house, and they treat even strangers like family. Spending time with each other was always the priority, and vacations were important.

Back in July, Mark and the family were on a family vacation and everything was normal. They were swimming, laughing and having a wonderful time. Then, a random movement started an unfortunate series of events.

According to Lynn, Mark bent over to pick up a bike rack and hurt his back. The Taylors thought nothing of it and went on with their vacation. By the end of August, the pain persisted and Mark saw a doctor.

The medical staff kept testing his blood and ended up finding a tumor. On Sept. 3, Mark was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer, the last leg of the aggressive disease.

“At that point, it didn’t matter,” Lynn said. “We thought it was the wrong information. It didn’t seem possible. Mark was in very good shape.”

Mark underwent one round of chemotherapy and one round of radiation, then had surgery to fix his vertebrae.

He spent time at Burlington Memorial Hospital and St. Luke’s in Milwaukee and returned home eight days after surgery to rehab.

Mark felt great and worked hard to get back in good health.

“He felt so good after that first surgery,” Lynn said. “He constantly fought and had a ‘go big or go home’ mentality.”

After another round of chemo, Mark suffered another fracture and required another surgery. At this point, things weren’t getting better and Mark’s future was bleak. But he didn’t complain once even though the pain was excruciating, Lynn said.

“He has four amazing children that inspired him,” Lynn said. “His whole life was devoted to us. Nothing made him prouder than watching his kids do well.”

Mark’s siblings and family were with him until the end. Ty was granted emergency leave, thanks to the RedCross, so he could spend a month with Mark. Lynn said it was “huge” and “truly amazing” that Ty had time with his dad.

Married in 1988, Mark and Lynn just celebrated their 25^th anniversary this summer. Both grew up in Platteville and were always good friends. They were in class together freshman year of high school and started dating sophomore year.

“Grease” was their first movie date.

“It was a love adventure,” Lynn said. “We were high-school sweethearts and were on and off in college. We were both athletes. We were great friends.”

“As hard as it is, I am grateful and blessed to have had the years we did have,” Lynn added.

Since Mark’s passing, the community has stepped up for the Taylors. People have brought the Taylors food and have offered to run errands.

“People have been unbelievably warming and kind,” Lynn said. “It’s heartwarming and super helpful.”

#TaylorStrong

It will be a busy weekend for the Taylors.

On Friday night, there is a high school basketball doubleheader. At 6 p.m., the Burlington girls play, and the boys follow at 7:30 p.m.

Robyn Robers, a close friend of Teagan Taylor, will say a speech in honor of Mark at halftime of the girls’ game. Robyn along with friends Sophie Grandi and Ellen Stang are all best friends of Teagan, and they felt Mark’s loss, too.

They figured the Taylor family’s expenses would be through the roof with all of Mark’s hospital visits, so Robyn, Sophie and Ellen thought of “TaylorStrong” bracelets. Sold at $2 a pop, the bracelets have become a hit at the high school. The hashtag “TaylorStrong” was even trending on Twitter at one point. Melvin Gordon, star running back at Wisconsin, even tweeted the hashtag in support of the family.

The girls knew they had to go big or go home for Papa T, Mark’s popular nickname in the community.

“There’s a song, ‘Taylor Gang or Die,’” Robers said. “We wanted Taylor Gang, but Taylor Strong was more sentimental. We put crosses on there because the family is spiritual. We figured the expenses would be a lot. We visited Mark at the hospital, but we wanted to do something more.”

Robers and her gang got the word out on Twitter and Facebook and created an event, a “Cash for Cancer” game for this Friday at Burlington High School.

The event has 143 people attending as of Tuesday afternoon, and it will involve a “Miracle Minute” during both games. The girls will go around the crowd with buckets in-between the third and fourth quarters collecting money. All proceeds will go to the Taylor family.

“Mark wasn’t a dad to just Teagan but to all her friends,” Robers said. “He made us feel like part of the family. I would talk to him about anything.”

Robyn said everyone Mark has coached has a piece of him inside, and she can see it in all of his friends. When Mark passed away, Robyn, Sophie and Ellen said their condolences, but more importantly, they were present.

“We didn’t have to say anything,” Robyn said. “We just have to listen and make their lives normal again. On the day Mark died, we all just sat and cried together.”

Mark’s wake is Saturday at Schuette Daniels from noon to 4 p.m. On Sunday, there’s a Celebration of Life at Veteran’s Terrace.

The ceremony starts at 2 p.m., and the Taylor family and friends will watch the Green Bay Packers-Pittsburgh Steelers game on a projection screen starting at 3:25 p.m. The community is welcome.

“There’s a certain closure with that,” Beth Reetz said. “As an aunt, I want to be there for the kids. We want to continue to carry Mark’s legacy.”

Lynn wants to honor Mark. She knows this weekend will be hard to handle, but celebrating his life is vital.

“Don’t take anything for granted,” she said. “To honor him, we will live every day to the fullest. That’s what Mark did. Enjoy every day you have.”