Reese Hale Taylor Jr. passed away peacefully April 16, 2010, in Las Vegas, with family at his side. Born May 6, 1928, in Pasadena, Calif., to Reese Hale Taylor and Kathryn Emery Taylor, Reese was the middle child of three sons. After graduating from the Webb School of California in 1945, he went on to Stanford University, where he received a bachelor of arts degree with distinction. He attended law school in New York at Cornell University, and upon his graduation in 1952, became a member of the Order of the Coif. During his distinguished career as an accomplished attorney and a dedicated public servant, Reese worked tirelessly promoting fair and equitable policies specializing in the areas of labor, public utilities and transportation. Reese began his legal career in Los Angeles with the firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Upon his move to Nevada, he practiced with Wiener, Goldwater and Galatz of Las Vegas, chaired the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada in Carson City, and later served as a partner in the law firm of Laxalt, Berry and Allison of Carson City. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed Reese chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission, where he served until 1985. Returning to California, Reese practiced with the law firm of Keesal, Young and Logan of Long Beach until retirement. Reese was an active and dedicated Republican and served in many capacities, including 1976 Nevada chairman of Citizens for Reagan, Nevada delegate to the Republican National Convention, 1980 Nevada chairman of the Reagan for President Committee, and the 1980/1981 Republican National Committeeman for Nevada. He was an amateur historian and Civil War buff, a gifted conversationalist, and above all, a warm and remarkably intelligent man who had a passion for life. Reese is survived by his loving wife, of 39 years, Jolene Taylor of Las Vegas; sister, Margaret Taylor of Seattle; children, Stuart Taylor of Playa del Rey, Calif., Anne Conte (Mark) of Pacific Palisades, Calif., Lucy Parker (Dave) of Penn Valley, Calif., Christopher Taylor (Kyle) of Springfield, Mo., and Larry Meek (LaVonne) of Salida, Colo.; grandchildren, Allison Taylor, Brooke Taylor, Kevin Conte, Christopher Conte, Courtney Parker and Christopher Hale Taylor; and goddaughter, Lauren Drexel of Huntington Beach, Calif. His dear sons, Reese Hale Taylor III and Curtis Taylor; and loving brothers, Waller Taylor, Frank Taylor and James Marshall Taylor, predeceased Reese in death. Visitation for friends will be 4-6 p.m. Sunday, May 2, at Palm Mortuary, 7600 S. Eastern Ave., in Las Vegas. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Monday, May 3, at St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church, 130 N. Pecos Road, in Henderson. Final interment will be at Palm Valley View Memorial Park. The family asks that all gifts be in the form of donations made to the Stanford Law School Financial Aid, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA 94305-6861, in remembrance of Reese H. Taylor Jr.

Published in Las Vegas Review-Journal on April 23, 2010.