North Ogden Community Gathers for Celebration of Major Taylor’s Birthday
Jul 6, 2019, 11:03 PM | Updated: 11:06 pm
NORTH OGDEN, Utah – The North Ogden community gathered for what would have been Major Brent Taylor’s 40th birthday.
Taylor, a Major in the Utah Army National Guard and the Mayor of North Ogden, was killed November 3, 2018 while deployed to Afghanistan. He was 39. He and his family had already planned the party before he was deployed.
“We have actually been planning this party for about a year and a half. When my husband deployed, a lot of things went wrong. I needed a lot of help. The community really rallied to rescue me and these seven little kids. I told him, ‘When you get back, we’re going to celebrate with a big birthday party. You’ll be 40. Everybody loves a 40th birthday party’,” said Jennie Taylor, Brent Taylor’s wife.
The whole community rallied around the Taylor family after Major Taylor was killed. Jennie Taylor wanted Saturday’s event to be a thank you to everyone who has supported them.
“We have more reason now to celebrate, to say thank you to people who have supported us. One thing led to another and it went from a backyard barbecue to a city park to let’s have a foundation and raise a bunch of money to give scholarships in his honor,” she said.
They have created the Brent Taylor Leadership Legacy Foundation. It will fund scholarships at Brigham Young University and the University of Utah. Jennie Taylor hoped to raise $40,000 for Brent Taylor’s 40th birthday.
“The scholarship carries his name. Maybe it will be a reminder. Hey, that was a man who served his community, served his family, served his country,” she said.
To learn more about the foundation or to donate, visit MajorBrentTaylor.com
